six year shoes

Feliz Navidad! (really late)

2011-01-05T18:55:00.002-05:00

I went home for Christmas this year and I realized something beautiful ... no matter how old you get, your little kid sister will always be your little kid sister. I love you Kelsey!

Winter Wonderland

2011-01-05T18:46:00.004-05:00

Can you believe it?! Five inches of snow in North Carolina on Christmas Day! What a blessing! I wonder if it snowed in Bethlehem.

Making Merry, in Two Parts

2010-12-24T21:11:00.014-05:00

Christmas cookies and houses made out of said cookies always make me feel in the spirit.

Penny and I made a gingerbread house. I like to think of it as Extreme Makeover: Cookie Edition. We have our host, Ty Snowington. He exists just to make people smile ... look at how jolly he is:

Our couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jengibre:

Penny the roofer:

Installing the windows:

The finished product, ta-dah!

Another gingerbread family's dream come true. And all that selfless work around the holidays to keep everyone fed too.

Erica and I made traditional cookies too. But the untraditional part was making honey comb brittle. Erica found the recipe in a magazine and, as we are both fan of Cadbury crunchie bars, this simply had to be tried. The first hurdle was having all the ingredients - and we did! Very simple actually: mostly honey with the secret ingredient being baking soda.

Step one, combine ingredients and bring to a boil(ish):

Step two, using a candy themometer (which we didn't have) bring candy to 300F. Yeah, that looks about right ... right?

Ok, yeah, that must be 300F.

And then pour into a pan ... and wait. Waiting for candy is torturous. But, ultimately, you have a lovely, crunchy pan of honey brittle. Mmm, mmm, mmm:

La Roca

2010-12-22T21:15:00.016-05:00

Matagalpa is my favorite city in my favorite department of Nicaragua. It's beautiful year round but especially during the rainy season. My favorite place in Matagalpa is my friend Celtina's house. I met Celtina through my other friend Margine - both are quick to laugh and, as you can see from our Pearl Lagoon, are always up for an adventure.

So, Celtina's beautiful house looks like a fairy tale. Down the hill from her house is a smaller building that up to six children live in at a time. It is an officially recognized orphanage and during the week she and her husband feed 20-30 children from the surrounding area. The house is such an oasis of peace largely due to the beautiful people who live there.

One side trip we've done twice now is climb La Roca, a rock that is perched on one of the higher peaks.

La Roca as seen from Celtina's house:

The first time I took this trip, Margine, Celtina and I climbed with two of the kids to live in the little house. There is no real path to the top, just a faint trail where other have trod before. We took a machete to cut through the brush and bushes along the route:

One stunning view:

Margine and I on one of a few rocas:

The second trip we brought Elizabeth and Erica along for the ride. More funny pictures ensued.

Hermanito on the trail:

Modelano:

Sonrie:

Of course, there was a heel-click attempt:

Erica was more successful:

Elizabeth's explorer pose:

Conquering La Roca a second time:

I can't wait until trip three!

Elizabeth's visit: Big Corn Island

2010-12-06T19:51:00.015-05:00

Elizabeth, buena amiga from my time in New York City came to visit me in September. I think several times on this trip she thought, 'Jeez, you meet a girl in the subway and then you end up in Nicaragua a year later ... life is weird!' We had sooo much fun and, thanks to ample time and good planning, we were able to see a ton of Nicaragua (and I mean a ton).

One place we went was Big Corn Island. Originally we planned to go to Little Corn but, in one of those happy sort of travel accidents, the wind was too high and we were 'stuck' on Big Corn Island. Bummer:

That is actually the view from out hotel room! It was funny, for some reason a friend from the Embassy insisted on suggesting a hotel on Big Corn Island even though I said we were going to Little Corn. It was great that I did though - then when the cab driver said there weren't any boats to Little Corn I could quickly say 'Take us to Casa Canada!'

The stay really was just what we were looking for - a pool to lounge by, some clear water to snorkel in and lots of time to catch up on our reading ... of Vogue.

The pool:

The beach:

On the way home our plane was so small that, in addition to weighing our backpacks they weighed us, ha! Luckily, we were light enough :)

Sitting right behind the pilot:

After the ride:

Feliz:

The Wedding of the Year (in Pearl Lagoon)

2010-11-20T17:16:00.008-05:00

As I stated in my last post, the purpose of our cross-country trip was to attend Yali's wedding in Pearl Lagoon. And it really was the wedding of the year.

It felt like the whole town was crammed into the white clapboard church that sits in a prominent place on the town's only real road. There were 14 bridesmaids and groomsmen. All of them slowly danced and swayed down the aisle. Nice and slow, no hurry to finish to get to the reception because this, the ceremony, was the main event, and it was being savored.

Yali was gorgeous. She is so teeny tiny, with beautiful skin and a calm spirit. Her now-husband was one big smile the entire day. The sweetest thing was how he relished saying 'my wife' at the reception.

Fern, Celtina and Margine's friend from Bluefields, now our friend from Bluefields, was shameless in getting the best photos at the wedding - and she wasn't the only one!

After the ceremony the couple walked down the main street to the reception and all of the guests trailed behind. No one passed them or walked at their side but stayed to the back, symbolic of how the community was behind them but ultimately the walk was their own.

They'll live together in the Cayman Islands, where he found work years ago. She'll leave the community she grew up in as he already has but in a way really leaving the nest is the best way to start out a new life. A good split between old and new, the future and the past.

From Pacific to Atlantic

2010-11-11T21:54:00.012-05:00

This past weekend Margine, Celtina and I drove across the width of Nicaragua, from Managua to Pearl Lagoon. The trip was part adventure seeking but mostly to get Celtina and Margine to a wedding of a close friend of theirs', Yali. The route was described to us as treacherous. We took Peter up on the offer of a GPS and satellite phone but we ignored the repeated suggestions that we bring a gun or find ourselves a man to be a bodyguard on the trip. Some people even said it was too dangerous to go. I'm glad we didn't listen to the naysayers.

The first four hours or so of the drive, from Managua to El Rama, is on a paved highway and a nice paved highway at that. It takes you through the more mountainous terrain of Nicaragua's interior and reminds you how beautiful the countryside really is.

What we called Nicaragua's "Pan de Azucar":

Cows are a common sight through the Juigalpa/Chontales area as the large ranches form the backbone of the local economy.

Just passing through:

El Rama, the last outpost until the rocky trail to Pearl Lagoon, was surprisingly small, a blink-and-you-missed-it town. The major feature is the large rushing river that connects Rama to the coast. We took a wrong turn and ended up more or less in someone's front yard. The resident was decidedly calm about the situation, as if travelers often turn up on his door step. He even pulled out the only three chairs he had so we could eat the lunch that Celtina brought: roast chicken, quesillos and Kola Shaler.

Margine on the porch:

Nica lunch:

After El Rama, the road was rough. It was not nearly as treacherous as described though. It was a well-marked path. The surface was incredibly rocky and, though we never had a flat, I was exceedingly glad I had all of my tires checked out before we left.

After an hour we reached the large African Palm plantations that literally stretched on for miles. It took us two hours to get through the many plantations.

We got a bit turned around as every road appears to be the same and row after row of trees are identically planted. We attempted to rely on the GPS but later took the more Nicaraguan route of finding a local and having them hop in the car and direct us to the correct route. A most effective solution in almost all cases.

Celtina and the GPS:

We arrived after eight hours of driving to Pearl Lagoon as the sun was dipping into the horizon and the shore breezes were damping down the temperature, the end of the long and winding road.

Comiendo por una Causa/Eating for a Cause

2010-11-04T22:36:00.007-04:00

A few weeks ago I got a call from my friend Joseph about doing a dinner fundraiser at my house to help flood victims in Nicaragua. The rains this year have been severe and, in one tragic accident, six Red Cross workers were killed in a flash flood while they were trying to help victims.

The premise behind the dinner is that ten of us would cook up a feast and then invite all of our friends to give a $5 minimum donation to eat with us. All of that money would go directly to flood relief, not towards food, as all of the chefs covered the cost of their own materials. The funds we decided would go to a local organization in Boaco that works closely with the Canadian Red Cross. They would use this money to buy supplies and/or train new volunteers.

Leading up to the event I just wanted everything to be perfect. We set up a tent and tables in my backyard, a sound system for music thanks to Joseph's guitar amp and a borrowed BBQ for the gator-style steaks. With some extra logistics help from Arlen and Mimi, we were ready to go.

Luis, the first to arrive and to donate:

The all-homemade and absolutely delicious spread:

Joseph serving "the gator":

Eating for a Cause (Table 1 of 3):

The event was a huge success. We had anywhere from 30-40 people come to the actual event. For me, I loved seeing the mash-up of my friends from church, NGOs and the Embassy community all mixing together and having fantastic conversations.

And now, for the big news, the money we raised at the dinner and other subsequent donations came to a grand total of, drumroll please ... $1100! That was way more than we were expecting to get and will be such a great contribution to the work the Red Cross is supporting in Boaco.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support this event! I'm planning on visiting the site in the coming weeks so I'll hopefully be posting pictures from that trip soon.

Mirror mirror on the wall ...

2010-11-01T22:54:00.002-04:00

The cutest picture to come out of the Embassy trunk or treat party was the meeting of the Snow Whites:

Marisa was kind of confused about the whole situation and Ellie was just really excited to see Snow White, briefly forgetting that she too was Snow White. Ah, to be two again.

Los Agüizotes

2010-11-01T22:26:00.007-04:00

Every year in Masaya they celebrate "Los Agüizotes." It's a massive parade where everyone dresses up as devils and ghosts. It's kind of like Mardi Gras but creepier. There was also, in typical Nica fashion, lots of fire. By lots of fire I mean they were spraying bottles of spray paint into an open flame to create a makeshift blowtorch. It was very safe.

The event itself, while slightly creepy and more than a little hazardous, was quite the experience. We were invited by Jorge Luis to enjoy the view of the parade from the balcony of his house/bike shop (remember the shop?). It was great to see members of the biking club, some of whom dressed up as ghouls. We briefly went down into the parade to see the action close up and then later retreated to the ring-side view from the balcony.

Erica and I got sprayed by fake blood (nice cough drop chica!):

Group shot with some diablos:

El club on the balcón:

View from the balcony:

Fire:

More fire (please note the spray bottle in his hand is filled with lighter fluid, nice):

Nica Challenge: Cumplido

2010-10-25T23:50:00.009-04:00

We might have made a wrong turn here or there, we might of near lost two tires, one of us might have fallen sideways into a pile of trash (not me though), it might have taken us six hours but we finished all 70k of the Nica Challenge. You always had to stay with your partner but the four of us all stayed together for most of the race. No giving up, no throwing bikes in ditches just a long freakin' time on a bike.

Then we passed out on Andy's front yard:

Monica arrives home to the carnage:

Team Deliciosa:

Team Preciosa:

Note: The team names were inspired by the first cat-call of the day that Erica and I received about, umm, 10 seconds into the race. Erica thought they called us "deliciosas" but I thought they said "preciosas." We decided Team Deliciosa just sounded more, well, delicious, so we kept that name and gave "preciosa" to the boys. Kind of fits, right?

The countdown to 70k

2010-10-22T23:17:00.013-04:00

Last weekend was my first ride in awhile with the Veredes MTB mountain biking group. The ride was to inaugurate the new specialty bike shop owned by Jorge Luis, one of the group members. Now this was truly bonito-suavecito not like last time.

We rode from Managua to the store in Masaya, picking up riders along the way like we were a big gang of neighborhood kids. In Masaya the trail was semi-technical and Javier stuck with me as a sort of personal trainer for gears. They all love to teach the other riders how to maximize biking efficiency to put it in nerd. And they like everyone to stay encouraged so this post is dedicated to Javier, gracias amigo! The final distance count: 42 miles!

After the Masaya ride Jorge Luis had Nica breakfast for everyone with Gallo Pinto, sausages, eggs and fresh juice. A priest even came by to bless the place! Que Nica :)

The group in front of the store:

On the trail:

Embassy riders:

Nick's near death experience (the tube blew out of the tire IN PIECES!!):

Tomorrow morning at 5:30am we're riding again but this time it's a race. The 100k ride is too out of control for us casual riders but 70k is just our speec. Wish me, Erica, Andy and Phil lots of luck. Now I'm going to go eat some carbs ... lots and lots of carbs.

Family Dinner

2010-10-16T18:43:00.007-04:00

Every Thursday at Bryan's apartment there is something that Eliza calls "Family Dinner." I'm not quite a regular attendee but on one occassion my kitchen was called into action as there was a water outage at Bryan's.

The concept is that every Thursday about 15 friends of Bryan get together and cook dinner. Menu is decided one the grocery store has been given the once over to see what there actually is. This time, it was lasagna. Three types to be exact. One was traditional meat, one with alfredo sauce and one experimental one with spicy sausage. It definitely left your mouth burning.

The real fun is not the eating though but the process. The chaos of five people in the kitchen at once, multiple conversations wafting through the air and some good wine. So below are a few shots of the night, of friends sharing food and sharing life.

Yum :)

Into the Belly of the Beast

2010-10-16T18:20:00.008-04:00

Central American safety standards are awesome. For example, there is a huge, smoking, active volcano (Volcan Masaya) right next to one of Nicaragua's major thoroughfares. It's constantly belching smoke and hurls massive rocks on occassion. It looks really intense and you kind of understand why the Spanish priests went to so much trouble to bless it. You can also walk right up to the edge of the crater. Oh, and on the night tour, you can walk more or less into the crater (!)

Clearly, this night tour had to be done.

The tour starts with a brief explanation of the volcano's history and then you climb over the saftey barrier to the edge. The smoking crater is actually one of three craters clustered together. One is completely dormant and grown over with vegetation, one is smoking and one was covered over the last time the smoking one really good and erupted. And by good and erupted I mean Mt. St. Helens-style.

Kirk looking over the volcano:

Holy smokes:

I've been to the volcano about five times during the day and looked out over the crater and it has grown decidedly bigger in the last year. Quite honestly, the parking lot is probably going to go at any time. At the end of the tour, in the pitch black, they take you to the other side and as you peer over the edge you can see the glow of the lava churning below. Honestly, my stomach was churning at the thought of accidentally driving my car off the edge and into a volcano.

A second part of the tour, and really the one that caught our attention initially, was going to the bat cave. There are two areas of lava tubes and caves next to the volcano, home to lots and lots of bats. They all come flying out at night to feast on the cattle and rodents nearby. Mmm mmm good. For this part of the tour, we had accessories.

Erica and I. Tres chic, non?

They have you wear helmets because you a) will probably hit your head in the lava tube at some point and b) they have you stand right in front of the cave opening as bats are zipping out for their dinner. It was crazy to be standing right there. There weren't hundreds by any means but enough to make us a bit nervous about getting hit by one.

The lava tube has many spooky tales. They've found pottery from the native peoples and guns from the revolution, sure. But they've also found huge pools of blood from the vampire bats. It's a smell so putrid even researchers are prevented from fully exploring the cave. Most recently they had to remove a woman from the cave. She was there collecting bats, cutting off their heads and performing rituals with them. The researchers found piles of bat heads and bodies throghout the cave ... in 2005. Oh yikes.

The best thing was how informed our tour guide was. He went to university, yes, but the vast majority of his knowledge was gleaned from assisting researchers from the U.S. and Europe in their studies at the volcano. He knew more than I about the volcanos of Washington state and had a genuine curiosity about all things geologic. Quite refreshing to see in Nicaragua.

To Bluefields in a Blackhawk

2010-09-25T11:39:00.007-04:00

One of the fringe benefits of being involved in a ship visit is they offer to give you a lift to the site.

Rosa and I before take-off:

Bluefields, being on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, was a 1.5 hour flight over the almost completely undeveloped center of Nicaragua. Lt Commaner Kostenko arranged for some of the consular section to be flown out so we could hold a town hall meeting in conjunction with the visit of the USS Iwo Jima. The ship was there on Operation Continuing Promise in which they provided free medical care for 500 people everyday during the visit, performed minor surgeries on the ship as well as completing engineering projects in and around Bluefields, Rama Cay and El Bluff.

Somewhere over Nicaragua:

Driver's seat:

Volcano!:

Kostenko and I:

Quite the find

2010-09-23T19:59:00.003-04:00

I love old books so stumbling across this gem at El Gato Negro in San Juan del Sur was definitely quite the find: "Lost in Nicaragua" by Hezekiah Butterworth.

El Gato Negro is a coffee shop/used bookstore. The book is a chronicle of travelers going across the wilds of Nicaragua in the late 1800s. It's full of phrases like "The soul of progress is to-day restless to bring about the wonder; the new world of Central America is about to appear, and the wonder that will come with the new century will break the continent and tend to draw into closer brotherhood the races of mankind." I only wish that were true.

That, and the author's name is Hezekiah Butterworth for crying out loud! It's the perfect name for one of those almost dangerously naive Victorian explorers. The kind that said 'I was the first to see the x' when there's a whole crowd of nonplussed natives standing around wondering what he's going on about. Yeah, it's just an x, but it's quite the entertaining read.

Situational hazards of traveling in Nicaragua

2010-09-23T19:40:00.006-04:00

Nicaragua is currently in the heaviest part of the rainy season which lends itself to certain considerations when traveling. A few weeks ago some friends and I rented a house on the beach in San Juan del Sur. We did some walking on the main beach but wanted to check out Playa Coco near where a certain television show is filming.

So we started out, not really thinking about the ridiculous downpour that happened the night before. And then we saw, this, ha!

We thought, briefly, about fording the river but then we were overcome by the image of ourselves and poor little hermanito (the car) floating our way to the Pacific. So we passed a perfectly lazy afternoon by the pool at Pelican Eyes.

San Juan del Sur is quickly becoming my favorite weekend spot.

And now for something slightly different

2010-09-14T20:01:00.003-04:00

In the past two weeks I got bangs, or fringe as it's more whimsically called in the UK, and new glasses. I think the glasses are kind of Swedish looking, hence the fish in the photo.

I think I like this look :)

Lions and Tigers and ... wait, a TIGER?!

2010-08-27T13:55:00.008-04:00

Dear friends,

I went to the circus and there was a photo op with a tiger. A real, live, very large white tiger - and they even let us touch it! Pictured here: Me, Wendy, her daughter and Amira.

Siegfried and Roy, eat your hearts out!

Salads ... the curse continues

2010-08-24T20:41:00.010-04:00

Remember when I said I was going to make a list next time? Well I did! I had a list for broccoli salad that included bacon, garlic, chives, feta cheese, tomatoes and broccoli of course.

As stated before - I had a list! A good one! I even had a back-up salad that used asparagus! And you know what? La Colonia was fresh out of, get this, broccoli! How is that even possible?!?! If you were to list vegetables off the top of your head I'm sure broccoli would be one of the first three you mention. You just did it, didn't you? I was right, right? Even if I wasn't still, broccoli people!

The killer, they had an entire display of "lechugas especiales." Irony. I don't want your lechuga - I want broccoli!

Fie on you salad! You may have won the battle but the war continues.

Salads ... my kryptonite

2010-08-24T20:12:00.010-04:00

I really love salads, all kinds ... even snooty kale and arugula. The problem is I don't really enjoy making salads at home and, frankly, every time I try to, something goes wrong. How can something go wrong you ask? That's the thing, I have NO idea. Part of it probably involves my failure to make shopping lists but other than that, no idea, it's just always soggy and just generally wrong.

So I decided to face this curse head on and do two of the super simple salads from my now favorite cookbook. The first recipe was an "Evolution Green Salad" and, in the spirit of the salad, I took a picture at every point in the process:

Lettuce:

Hard-boiled egg:

Bacon:

Alligator:

No, kidding.

Parmesan Cheese:

And done, a salad. Isn't it lovely.

The egg was a last minute substitution for toasted pine nuts. But substitutions are my new norm, so not bad at all.

The dressing caused a bit of drama. I wanted to make French dressing with dijon mustard but, when I arrived home from grocery shopping, I realized that the full bottle of white wine vinegar I thought I had was actually a completely empty bottle of white wine vinegar that I apparently failed to throw away.

I went with lemon dressing which is basically extra virgin olive oil with a hefty douse of lemon juice. Please note that my salad had bacon and parmesan cheese on it so a few bites in I chucked the dressing and went for the bottle of ranch. Don't judge me, it was delicious.

The second salad course was yogurt cucumber salad. It also fell into the evolution salad category but no play-by-play, just an ingredient shot:

I cut the recipe in half which is where the trouble began. The oil and the yogurt didn't mix, creating this funky goo that tasted at timea like yogurt and at times like pure olive oil. I added the peppers but made them more roughly chopped and black olives. The recipe called for mint and I do have mint in my garden ... that my gardener had apparently moved and 10 minutes running around blindly smelling leaves in the dark did not lead to much success on that front ... so no mint.

In the end, the cucumber bits lightly coated in sauce and speared along with olive and pepper worked but I was exceedingly glad I was only making it for myself and not for the consumption of others.

Both of these recipes, so easy, and yet fraught with difficulty. It's inexplicable really ... or maybe I just need better shopping list skills.

"Superman's on line one" and four other reasons why last week rocked

2010-08-16T23:21:00.009-04:00

Ok, let's cut to the chase, Dean Cain, aka Superman, Chelsea Staub from Disney's "Jonas L.A." and Ace Young from American Idol came to Nicaragua and I was the control officer so to speak for their visit to the Embassy.

How did this happen you might ask? First, someone up there really, really likes me and second, they were all in Nicaragua filming as a here as a part of their work with Feed the Children, a fantastic US-based organization that provides food, clothing and educational funding for needy children in the U.S. and around the world. And yes, I did write the Embassy press release so I can plagiarize myself all I want.

Dean had contacted the Embassy to volunteer some of their extra time and we were able to send them to the Centro Cultural Nicaragüense Norteamericano to visit the English students on scholarship from the Embassy. I showed the group around the Embassy earlier in the day but wasn't able to go to the final English class event. Darn Americans losing their passports! But, from what I understand, the students were understandably thrilled for such an awesome surprise visit.

Ace's brother Ryan and Chelsea's friend Kelly rounded out the day's travel group. They even asked a lot of questions about consular work which automatically endeared them my little be-visa'd heart!

All of them were so enthusiastic about their work in Nicaragua and so gracious and willing to give of their time. Sometimes being in a third-world country, seeing the politics, the cycle of poverty, the endless setbacks, it's easy to get discouraged about the future. But then to see volunteers like these come through with a lot of hopeful energy that really provides a shot in the arm. There is so much to be done and, poco a poco, it is being done.

Thanks for the visit Superman and crew! We'll always be happy to see you in Managua again.

A trip short and strange

2010-08-16T22:26:00.007-04:00

First off, to end any suspense, I'm totally fine but here's a little diddy about my MedEvac a week and a half ago:

I started a scuba class and one of the things the instructor asked for me to get was a doctor's note because I've had such strong headaches in the past. I went to a neurologist in Managua and he wanted to do an MRI. So I did that and then it got complicated.

The following day, Friday, the doctor puts up the MRI film and he's pointing out various major features. He's literally complimenting me on the formation of my brain tissue ... at which point in time I knew that the last slide had something weird. And it did. When looking at one of the major arteries it appeared that there was a bubble in the artery. After many attempts at putting it delicately he finally said to me, in Spanish, I think you have a brain aneurysm, you should probably go to Miami because we can't fix it here.

WHAT?!

I get back to the Embassy and go straight to the nurse. She tells me that she wants me on a plane ASAP the following day and that as soon as I land, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go to the emergency room. Then I'm telling the Consul General and he looks extremely concerned and they're talking about getting a TDYer because I might be out for a month and the Ambassador walks in the office and gives me a big hug and tells me good luck, that he'll be pulling for me and I have to tell my team that I might be gone for awhile because I've got this thing and I keep saying "It's all going to be fine" but everyone's looking at me like I'm going to die and ...

WHAT?!

So, logically, I went to the Marine House and had a beer.

Then I went home, called my parents, packed and watched a movie with a friend. I chose to be MedEvac'd to Duke University Hospital because a) my family lives near there and b) if it's good enough for Ted Kennedy, it's good enough for me!

We went straight to the emergency room on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday morning my brain received the paparazzi treatment from some very high tech machinery. The rest of the day I played cards in the cafeteria with my parents and watched "When Moose Attack" on Discovery with my sister. That show was followed by "When Fish Attack." Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up, it's too weird ... or awesome. I'm kind of on the fence about it.

Sunday evening I sent my family home as the doctors are telling me they'll do some sort of test that involves a spinal tap. I call some friends to pass the time and nothing is attacking anything on the Discovery Channel anymore as I'm settling into the idea of a more prolonged hospital stay.

And then, with absolutely no fanfare, one of the neurosurgeons comes in and says that through the 3-D imaging they can see that what they thought they saw on the MRI was not a problem and I'm a-ok. Oh, and his wife is reading "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Next too, is it good?" Umm, cool but huh?

Doctor: "Do you have any questions?"
Me: "So I can go scuba diving?"
Doctor: "Yes."
Me: "And I can run a 25k."
Doctor: "Yes."
Me: "Great, now how fast can you get this freaking IV out of my arm?"

Ten minutes later I was positively skipping to the hotel across the street. I decided against asking a whole bunch of questions regarding how exactly they new I was in the clear but if they were fine and I could go diving, I was more than fine avoiding something being inserted into my spine.

Monday, in a flurry of phone calls, State gave me the all clear to return to post, I booked a return flight for the next day and spent the next 24 hours seeing as many friends as I could while I was in town. One of the other Vice-Consuls from Managua was actually there on MedEvac too as his wife was going to have their second child at Duke University Hospital. More ironic, both of us went to Chapel Hill.

Whatever, they might have given my brain the all-clear but their basketball team still sucks.

In summary, as the title says, the trip was short and it was strange. Ultimately, there was nothing wrong with me but it did make me realize how much I take my health for granted. In my wing of the building there were patients with massive brain tumors, bleeding aneurysms and family members wondering if that small, cramped hospital room was the last view their relatives would have of this side of eternity. All very heavy emotions bobbing around in the atmosphere.

It also made me realize how many caring people I have in my life in Nicaragua and how glad I am to be a part of that community. I'm incredibly grateful to all of the support I received during those somewhat frantic hours. And not half bad to spend the day beating all three members of my family at a game of "BS." Sorry Dad, I can read your bluffs! :)

It was nothing, absolutely nothing, but it's funny how things like that make priorities clearer and wipe little worries completely off of the radar. Having one's health is no small thing, it's one of God's best gifts.

Pretty food

2010-08-16T20:58:00.006-04:00

Quite unexpectedly, there was camembert cheese at La Colonia, the local grocery store. Naturally, I bought it because when something like that appears you just can't pass it up.

So I kept in my fridge for about a week and then decided that I really should do something with it. And that's when Jamie Oliver came to my rescue (let's face it, I have a BIT of a crush) with a very pretty recipe for Baked Camembert Pasta. On a side note, what is the protocol for recipe titles, Start With Capitals, 'quotes', italics because I feel like just writing it out normal doesn't work, you know? What is the AP style for this sort of thing? Ok, so maybe it's just me.

Back to the topic at hand, baked camembert 'Pasta.'

You cut a hole in your cute little cheese wheel, douse it with a little olive oil, a pinch of salt, some sliced garlic cloves and a few sprigs of rosemary. I say it's a pretty recipe because, when all is said and done, the cute little cheese round you stick in the oven looks like this:

Aww ... it's just so small and cute. It's like the Audrey Hepburn of food, simple but very lovely. Have I reached hyperbole yet? I think yes.

Then you stick it in the oven until it becomes this gooey wonderfulness that you pour over your pasta and then eat, thanking God that some purchaser at the La Colonia has a thing for cheese.

I will note that the recipe called for spinach to add to the pasta. I'm a great fan of spinach but the type they have here has a bitter aftertaste and the leaves just seem a lot thicker than good 'ole American spinach. I tried to work with it but now I just avoid it.

(Corn) Island Time

2010-08-04T23:57:00.015-04:00

July 19th was the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution so Joe, Mags, Kevin, Lindsay and I celebrated the three-day weekend by getting the heck out of Managua. We flew to the Corn Islands, two tiny little islands with white sand beaches, caribbean-blue waters and very, very few tourists. (Note: This trip was the weekend before my trip home to see my family/attend Stephen's wedding. A bit out of order but I'm working on it!)

The Big Corn Island, 'big' being open to interpretation, is where you fly into and then hop into a small fishing boat for the 30 minute ride to Little Corn Island.

This boat ride was supposed to be death-defyingly scary but it wasn't really that bad.

Little Corn is a tiny little spot of an island that looks ripe for a pirate to wash up on the beach, rum bottle in hand.

The most incredible thing about Little Corn Island is the almost entirely intact reef system all around the island. Just off the back porch of our cabaña (at Casa Iguana, definitely the best place to stay) you could see the dark shapes of the reef beneath the surface. In the first 15 minutes of swimming around in the water Kevin and I saw a shark! It was incredible. We just walked into the water from the beach and we were swimming with sharks. Have I mentioned that Nicaragua is awesome?

Joe and Mags on the back porch:

The view:

The second day on the island we went on a deeper water snorkeling trip and saw a stingray, huge reefs, colorful fish and sharks, again!

Pretty fish:

Shark!!!!

Me and the reef (no, I'm not naked, my bathing suit is just roughly the color of the water):

While snorkeling is great, Mags said she felt "like a kid on crutches" watching the scuba divers go past. That combined with my previously fun experience in Laguna Xiloa sealed the deal so I am now currently one week in to my scuba certification class. The class is in Spanish which adds a whole other level of adventure to enterprise.

Our third day on the island and sadly our last we decided to climb the "lighthouse" which was basically a big metal tower with a lightbulb on the end of a pole. As there was a ladder, Kevin and I were the first to decide that this lighthouse must be climbed. About halfway up, we realized that it was probably one of the worst decisions safety-wise that we have ever made.

But we were committed, so we finished the climb. You could see the whole island from the top.

I am definitely making a return trip to the islands to flex my soon-to-be-new-found scuba muscles. I must give a huge shout out to Jodi and Jeremy who, on flag day, told me that I had to make a trip out to the Corn Islands. It takes a little effort to get there but they were so right, vale la pena!

My Favorite Sous Chef or the Leek That Was

2010-08-02T23:28:00.014-04:00

While at home in the land of plentifully stocked supermarkets, I decided to try the Leek Pappardelle recipe.

Not only did Harris Teeter have leeks they had organic and non-organically grown. I bought some of each to celebrate the power of choice.

Once at home, a very fun process began. My sister was a very enthusiastic sous chef, happily chopping and stirring whatever needed doing. It made me wonder why we hadn't cooked together more often. Maybe we have latently created a new tradition for my trips home.

First, braising the leeks:

Then covering them with parma ham to keep them moist and letting them simmer for 30 minutes:

Meanwhile pappardelle noodles were boiling on the back burner and I tasked my sister with making the porchini pangrattato (translation: tasty breadcrumbs). It's an easy mix of four parts cubed up Cibatta bread with one part porchini and then fried up in olive oil with rosemary, garlic and salt/pepper to finish. I told Kelsey to use the blender to mix it all up and I would tend to the stove. To which she said, "Confession, I don't know how to use a blender." Needless to say, her first attempt was a rousing success:

So then we had the leeks braised, the pasta boiled, the pangrattato fried and all that was left was to put it all together in one delicious heap.

The finished product had this lovely combination of the soft, sweet flavor of leeks, with the hint of savory ham and the always welcome garlic. Yes, Jamie Oliver, I was "cleaning up at the dinner awards, mate!" I even added some fresh parmesan cheese which is so delicious and hard to find in Nicaragua. I can't wait to make this recipe again as soon as the leek gods smile on my fair Central American home.

On a side note, we decided to give a slice of cheese to my dog as he had so diligently hovered around our knees through the entire cooking process. Now, he turns up his nose at kraft cheese slices, only the fancy stuff.

Persistence:

The clean-up crew:

(Please note that my family does thoroughly wash all of our dishes ... we just let Tucker do his own pre-wash.)

Soul Infusions

2010-07-31T11:13:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I made the pilgrimage back to the good ol' US of A to attend a wedding (Congrats Heather and Stephen!!) and for some quality time with my family. A part of that trip was to visit Western Carolina University where my little sister is going to be attending in the fall. She'll be studying nutrition so I'm sure that will inform some of my cooking posts in the future :)

Western is in Cullowhee, NC. A tiny town if there ever was one but stunningly situated in the north western mountains of North Carolina. They have a hippie/outdoorsy vibe with the largest rock-climbing wall in the state. While we were touring the campus, a student walked by picking a banjo. I love it!

Possibly the best part of the trip was helping lil' sis find a fantastic restaurant called "Soul Infusions."

It's a funky restaurant in the downstairs and porch portion of a house. It's covered with environmental bumper stickers, photos of Friday nights past, books line the shelves, a board game or two makes an appearance. It bills itself as a tea house and bistro but really it's perfection. Along with loose leaf tea it has a wide selection of craft and imported beer, all the bread, cheese and vegetables are local products and organic.

My selection: a tuna melt on organic whole wheat made a bakery in the next town over along with red cabbage cole slaw and a Caguama cerveza from El Salvador.

Kelsey will have to wait to enjoy their beer selections but her buffalo chicken wrap deliciousness more than recommended the place for a return visit.

Stay-cation

2010-07-14T15:16:00.009-04:00

Costa Rica, just three hours to the south, seems like the perfect trip for a three day weekend. So I thought when I first arrived in Nicaragua. But, happily, something always comes up and I'm forced to explore another beautiful part of Nicaragua. One of the most recent trips was to Jicaro, a lodge on an island in Lake Nicaragua. Three of my friends from the Embassy decided to make a girl's weekend out of it and it was fantastic! Andrea, Lindsay, Leah - we've got to do this more often!

First off, it was absolutely gorgeous:

Each room was actually it's own two-story cabana with a balcony over looking the lake. Our balcony looked like this:

The general views around the place were stunning. Climbing the water tower gave a fantastic view of the Mombacho Volcano:

The next day we took out kayaks to paddle around some of the other islands.

The most amazing part was the fact we had the island to ourself - there were no other guests! We literally had a staff of seven to bring us drinks by the pool, prepare all of our meals and have coffee ready for us on the balcony in the morning.

This weekend is another three-day weekend and I'll be spending it exploring beautiful Nicaragua!

Simple, Basic, Delicious

2010-07-12T23:36:00.006-04:00

The rainy season in Nicaragua feels like a sauna but looks like misty England so despite the temperature it usually puts me in the mood for cold weather food. One of my favorites, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Despite my love for tomato soup I had never before made my own from scratch so this past Saturday seemed as good a time as any to make it happen. Tomato soup is almost painfully simple to make. You need tomatoes, some onion, garlic or other flavors to taste and then some chicken broth or other stock to give it a nice base. My recipe was 2 cups chopped tomatoes (one cup of mine was cherry tomatoes because that's what I had in the fridge), 1 slice onion, 1 clove garlic and 1 cup chicken broth to start.

Chopped vegetables always look lovely, don't they?

In any case, gently boil that mixture for about 20 minutes and then run it through the blender. While that waits patiently for it's turn, return to the stove and make a roux by blending 1 tablespoon melted butter with 1 tablespoon flour and browning it to a medium shade.

Add the blender mixture to the roux slowly over a low heat to avoid lumps. Then, voila, tomato soup perfectly matched to a grilled cheddar/mozzarella cheese sandwich.

The recipe and making the soup itself is incredibly basic but the act of making one's own tomato soup is so much more compelling than popping open a can and punching start on a microwave. In going through the process of boiling, blending and browning you get the full extent of aromas and little tastes throughout the process. It's just better the old-fashioned way. I can't believe I settled for a can for so long.

The Leek That Wasn't

2010-07-10T04:29:00.003-04:00

While reading the clever book "French Women Don't Get Fat" I was presented with the leek for the first time. A long, stalky vegetable that looks much like a giant green onion is surprisingly tasty. The book recommended the veggie as a wonder food - boiling the base of the leek and drinking only the broth will lead to quick weight loss in just three days.

Alas, I love bread, so I never did lose those promised pounds but I did gain an appreciation for the simple sweetness of a boiled leek drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of salt. My new found leek-craving was heightened when Jamie Oliver on his 'At Home' show did a special on the leek. One recipe in particular, Leek Pappardelle, sounded great and every great new recipe needs a dinner party of course!

So the dinner was planned and after work I confidently went to La Colonia where for weeks the produce section had been stocking large, lovely leeks. As I pushed my cart down the aisle to the leek bin nothing was amiss until I turned to find that the leek bin had turned into the lettuce, packaged mushroom and oh-my-gosh-people-are-going-to-be-at-my-house-in-less-than-two-hours-and-now-I-have-no-main-dish bin.

It was a crisis. So I bought a Coke which is what one needs in a crisis. Time was short so I reached back to a simple recipe that I practically know by heart, Imperial Chicken.

Take three chicken breasts split, skinned and boned - pieces you can eat in four to six bites really soak the flavor in best. Dip the chicken into a melted mix of 4 cloves of garlic and 1/2 cup of butter. Then coat the chicken with a mixture of 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs, 1 1/2 tablespoons minced parsley and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Arrange in a glass pan.

It's all very simple garlic chicken up to this point but the key is adding the juice of one lemon and 2 tablespoons more butter to the remaining garlic/butter sauce and drizzle over the top of the chicken.

Bake at 350F and 50 minutes later you have a chicken with the aroma of garlic and a final tangy bite thanks to the lemon.

So in the end, the dinner was a success. My dining companions helped fill out the meal with pasta salad, stuffed bell peppers and a watermelon gazpacho that is definitely on my menu in the very near future. I even made a salad with the mushrooms so shockingly in the usual locale of the leeks. That'll show 'em!

Absolutely American

2010-07-08T23:45:00.004-04:00

One of the great ironies of Foreign Service life is that the 4th of July, that most American of holidays, is usually a work day. For this year, our workholiday was on July 5th for the Embassy's official Independence Day reception. I for one enjoyed it immensely.

Decorations slowly appeared at the Embassy all week. First were the banners along the hallway, then poster-sized photos of famous American landmarks, a smattering of white stars thrown against a blue tile background and then finally the red, white and blue flower arrangements on the day.

As one of the greeters, my job was to shake the hand of every attendee as they walked in the door, a job I thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone was so happy to be there!

Our highest ranking dignitary was the Vice President of Nicaragua, Jaime Morales (remember the perks of the greeter job?). He is seen below at the far right along with other officials and the Ambassador and his wife.

There was a ceremony and then onto the art of cocktail small-talk. In a stroke of genius, our GSO ordered four specialty beers from the US: Dogfish IPA, Brooklyn Brown, Victory and Rogue's American Amber Ale. It was a) delicious and b) a fantastic conversation starter. Guests would ask about what state the beer was from, what there was to do in Oregon, and pretty soon you find yourself easily touting the singular beauty of cities often overlooked by tourists but are often the most absolutely American of them all. In one digression, Luis and I shared stories of our trips to New Mexico and five minutes later we were ready to hop on a plane to Santa Fe, swelled with pride that such a place was a part of our country.

As the crowd dwindled I took in the decorations for one last time and scanned the posters of the White House in the spring and Chicago in the fall. Sometimes it's hard to be an American diplomat abroad when the criticism is coming in fast. And then, in ways big and small, you're reminded of what a beautiful country it is that you serve and how beautiful it is to be an American.

Defying Buoyancy

2010-07-03T00:01:00.002-04:00

About 20 minutes from the Embassy there is a crater lake called Laguna Xiloa. This lake, one of two on a small peninsula jutting into Lake Managua, is unassuming and yet to scientists it is the most biologically diverse lake in all of Nicaragua.

I had been swimming there before on an after work excursion but I didn't know how unique it was until I wrote an article (to be published mid-July in State Magazine) about the push to have all of Nicaragua's lagunas declared UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites. In Xiloa especially there are fish that are found no where else in the world. One of the researchers I interviewed was hoping that I could go out and see the fish for myself before I finished the article but we had to postpone the discovery dive until Wednesday morning.

In a discovery dive the beginner, that would be me, is given a few pointers by a dive master before suiting up with a wetsuit, 40 pounds of oxygen and a healthy dose of courage. The dive master, in this case the researcher, is by your side at all times during the dive, monitoring your progress and reminding you to clear your ears and breathe normally.

The key is, really, to not panic and to breathe. I was never really afraid until about 20 feet when I realized how out of my element I was. I move to sit on the lake floor for a minute, took a few deep breaths, and then we continued on. I was really amazed at how easy the whole thing was.

The endemic lake fish are not going to win any beauty contests but their shape was so comical to me. They almost were shaped like a drumstick ice cream cone but with the pointy end of the cone lopped off. They had tan/brown markings to them and probably have no idea that they are the only ones of their kind. We dove to 70 feet at the most to get past the murky level. It was odd to suddenly see this pronounced difference in clarity.

All in all, diving was an odd yet fascinating experience. I didn't feel like I was that deep in the water and I never took a chance to look up while I was diving so as not to avoid a panic situation. It was very liberating too to not have to constantly come up for air like you do when you swim on the surface - you can just keep going, you've got your oxygen with you!

The dive lasted an hour before I had to pack up and head to work. It was just a taste of the underwater world but I'm now even more interested in becoming scuba certified. The rest of the day my lungs had this cool feeling to them, like after you run on a chilly day. Definitely not a bad way to start the work day.

For the birds

2010-06-27T21:18:00.011-04:00

One member of our new hiking crew is an avid birdwatcher. "Birding" as it is called by those in know (I'm still in the 'hmm') is not just a bunch of people puttering around their backyards with binoculars but really is an expertise. At final count, we saw upwards of 40 different bird species and our friend could point out and name every single one - and I'm not just saying 'Oh, that's a woodpecker, but the exact type.

At first, I thought he was just making stuff up. So after our first hike on Saturday morning I asked if I could borrow his book "A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Central America." As I looked through the pages I quickly came to realize that he wasn't guessing at all.

For "birders," a lot of the fun is in the chase to see another "lifebird" or a bird that they have never seen before. Like most of the world, I usually look at birds and notice maybe the color and size. I've never really stopped to think if it's actually a species of bird I have never before looked upon.

The first "lifebird" of the weekend was Grace's Warbler:

I thought it was just a small bird with a bit of yellow fluff under it's chin but after taking a peek through the binoculars, the detail in the markings was incredible. I started noticing birds more often, and more than just if they were 'pretty' or not. Even the plain ones had details that I never realized I was missing out on.

One bird that my friend was really hoping to see was the Lesser Roadrunner.

The edges of neighborhoods in California are full of these birds and I've seen literally dozens of them. I never thought that maybe it was an experience to be remembered. Happily, one lone Roadrunner decided to cross our path and even though it wasn't a "lifebird" for me it felt like I was really seeing it for the first time. Brightly colored, no, but extraordinary none-the-less.

Even so, you do have appreciate the classic exotic birds when you see them in the wild. So I was particularly gratified that on Sunday, day two of hiking, I was able to catch a glimpse of several Toucanettes in all of their bright green glory.

The Quetzal we were searching for eluded us, even though we did hear one rustling around somewhere above us.

I ordered some binoculars but I don't think they'll arrive in time for my next hiking trip. I may not become an avid birder, looking for my 2,051st life bird like my friend, but here's hoping that I'll soon see the wild version of Toucan Sam or, to birders, the "Chestnut-mandibled Toucan."

Mea Culpa

2010-06-26T01:02:00.005-04:00

I was going to write this fantastic blog with animation, smell-o-vision and 3-D glasses! (no, not really) But then I was invited to go to Somoto Canyon with some friends of mine up near the Honduran border. So while you are looking at this, the blog equivalent of the cop out, I will be here:

Possibly doing some of this:

I feel no remorse.

The best reason to have a party: hummus

2010-06-19T15:52:00.004-04:00

I hosted a World Cup party for the US's first game last Saturday. Ok, so maybe the World Cup is the best reason to have a party but hummus is a close second. Details on why you should be risking sleep-deprivation, cardio-vascular health and your employment status to watch the World Cup to follow. Now back to the topic at hand, hummus

In short, the party was awesome and I kept thinking that I make hummus. It's simple and tasty. It goes on vegetables and pita, literally the best thing since sliced bread. But I didn't.

Lucky for me then that I find myself on a pool party guest list today. This time, I will not fail to deliver the goods.

Hummus, at it's most basic, is smashed chick peas, some olive oil, lemon juice, tahini and maybe a bit of garlic. Since the legendary Muslim leader Saladin first made the stuff in the 12th century, truly one of the great 'hey, not bad' moments in dip history, the basic mix has stayed the same with more recent, and apparently controversial, add-ins.

The recipe I'm using today is basic but it does leave out tahini, something I was not keen to spend an entire Saturday in a fruitless search for.

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (15 oz.)
2 tablespoons roasted garlic
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Salt to taste

I roasted the garlic, another cooking first for me, by cutting off the tops, drizzling them with olive oil and then popping them in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes. Added bonus: the house smells like fresh bruschetta.

Process all above ingredients in a food processor (or blender, if you're Amy), adding olive oil in half teaspoon increments until desired consistency. Then eat, it's that simple and delicious. I always thought it would somehow be more complicated with heating and cooling and wait times, etc, etc. But it's not. Huh. I'll just have to make it more often ... maybe next time with red pepper and jalapeños.

Hermanita graduates

2010-06-19T15:19:00.006-04:00

My not-so-little-any more sister Kelsey graduated from High School last Tuesday. And thanks to some creative flight finding, I was there too:

My leave for this event was originally denied. The graduation was on a Tuesday, requiring at least three days off just for travel purposes, I had a meeting to run on Monday night and it seemed the trifecta of annual leave, illness and pack-out was not in my favor.

Then, out of a clear blue sky and with a little office brownie point usage, came a flight that left Managua at 9pm Monday, overnighted in the Miami airport and then arrived back in good ol' North Carolina at 8:30am Tuesday, 3 hours until graduation time. The flight was on time, the graduation was on time and then, in 30 hours time, I was back on a plane returning to Managua.

It was a mid-major miracle for which I am exceedingly grateful. I've only got one little sister and I wouldn't have missed this day with her for the world.

Felicidades mi hermanita bonita!

Bonito Suavecito = death in English

2010-06-19T15:06:00.003-04:00

In the past month I've joined or quasi joined the mountain biking club. They have shirts, they ride every Saturday morning at 5:30am and they're completely nuts for the sport.

I've ridden with them twice, hence the quasi-joined reference, and today was supposed to be the Bonito-Suavecito ride. Meaning easy, short. They lied.

It was a killer. Four hours of 40 degree angle climbs, the whole time in first gear. My legs hurt, my arms hurt but mostly it was mental. Every time we turned a corner and the route ... kept ... climbing, I wanted to throw my bike in a ditch and call a taxi. It never ENDED!! Even now, rested, it's stressing me out just thinking about it!

Usually with long climbs the pay off is the descent, wind in your face, enjoying the view. See we reached the summit and the only way down was to hoist your bike on your back and crawl down a ravine that wasn't even fit for walking. I ended the trail muddy, angry and exhausted ... but I did finish it. And I'm just crazy enough to make myself that miserable again.

The trouble with seafood

2010-06-13T23:38:00.008-04:00

I've never been a huge fan of seafood and I promise you it's not from lack of trying.

I sampled oysters in Ireland, only to somewhat (not at all) gracefully spit it back out:

In Spain I had octopus and mackerel, England gave me calimari and a roommate let me try some dried seaweed. Sushi is something I have attempted, valiantly, on three different occasions in three different countries ... each time leaving me with the feeling that I should have gone with the hibachi.

But I thought the tide was turning as of late. Shrimp pastas, the occasional exotic fish filet and an enjoyable paella prepared by a friend made me think that I too could be one of those sophisticated people who likes their food to be of the watery persuasion.

In Nicaragua, fresh fish abound from lakes, rivers and two oceans.

That particular shot is from a lake picnic in Jinotega. It was tasty! And even though I didn't eat the head it was a step in a more truly omnivorous lifestyle.

And then came the fried shrimp in Rivas.

There are no photos of that fateful day two weeks ago but I can see it in my mind ... and feel it in the pit of my stomach. Since then, even through my banana cooking, I feel physically sick at the thought of eating seafood or anything fried. Crackers and sprite have been my go-to options for lunch as even the vegetables have grease in the cafeteria. Even the smell wafting through the hallways is near vomit-inducing.

All that to say that I've tried seafood and I quit. I hate to be that picky person who eliminates an entire category of viable food options but I am and I do. I don't know what this means for the fish taco, something I previously craved when out of range of a Wahoo's, or even for fried foods in general, which includes the wonderfully crispy Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich. But it does mean that Nemo is eternally safe with me and I'm always going to go with Hibachi.

Cooking with alcohol and an open flame

2010-06-08T00:51:00.003-04:00

So it turns out Andrea was free on Thursday night and so I had a witness for Bananas Foster.

The recipe is really simple: dissolve brown sugar and cinnamon into butter over a hot stove, add bananas sliced lengthwise and then in half ... and then you're ready to flambé. To flambé, you pour the rum (or whiskey as the case may be) in a pan and light the alcohol on fire. I didn't have any matches handy so I tried the traditional tip the pan over the burner's flame method. And this is how that went:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNaYTKlNqj8

Eventually, it was a success, and Bananas Foster was enjoyed by all. The lessoned learned was definitely to buy stronger alcohol. Flor de Caña tastes great but it's only 35%. It doesn't light as well as it should.

Now I've got flambé fever - Cherries Jubilee, Crepes Suzette, the possibilities are endless!

Banana Chicken, a bridge too far

2010-06-06T20:57:00.004-04:00

I did end up making Banana Chicken and my wonderful friend Andrea muscled through it with me.

Ingredients:

4 halved skinless chicken breasts
1 can corn kernels (drained)
2 bananas (peeled)
2 tablespoons butter
8 bacon strips
1 1/2 cups cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
-Preheat the oven to 350F (180C, Gas Mark 4). Lightly butter a baking dish and spread the corn out evenly over the bottom.
-Cut a small pocket into each chicken breast, slicing into the side as if you were dividing it into two thinner pieces. Press half a banana into each pocket, mashing the banana if you wish to make it easier). Close the chicken breasts over the banana and sprinkle with salt and pepper if using.
-Place the stuffed chicken breasts carefully on top of the corn, and drizzle with the cream.
-Cut the butter into small knobs and place evenly in the baking dish. Top each chicken breast with two bacon slices.
-Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and the chicken is cooked through.

Frankly, it's not bad. The flavor is complex and it had that wonderful cream and bacon combo that you really can't go wrong with. But, and here's the but, the banana flavor with the chicken is just too much when you have it for leftovers. Don't know why, but even typing this I'm getting queasy and swearing I'll never eat another banana again. It might have been that I used the yellow banana rather than the American white banana. The yellow bananas are sweeter which might have made the whole combination just too rich.

In any case, this recipe gets a thumbs down because I liked it and then didn't and then I just felt sick. I think I need some tonic water.

And now that I've found my camera cord ...

2010-06-04T00:28:00.003-04:00

This is Mireya, my domestic help extraordinaire, making banana pudding. For Nicaraguan Mother's Day, on May 30, I bought her flowers because although she's not my mother sometimes I feel like she is a surrogate one. Every morning she is so full of life and tells me about her children and grandchildren. We talk for a bit and we sip coffee as we walk around the house pointing out specific things to be done. And then, as I walk out the door, she always says to me "May God keep you and guide you well."

Sometimes I think she might be an angel ... but I'm always sure she is a blessing.

I wonder what Banana Soup tastes like

2010-06-01T22:22:00.004-04:00

One of the great things about Nicaragua, especially this time of year, is all of the fruit that is in season, bananas, papayas, mangoes, avocados and almost the limes. You can always tell who has what tree in the backyard by what is left by the ton on the conference table. My backyard has mangos and limes but my problem this week: bananas.

I visited new friends out in Matagalpa and Jinotega two weeks ago and now have about 30 bananas, all ripening at the same time! I can’t just eat them all in the next 3-5 days so I’m baking and cooking all bananas, all the time.

I started out with a classic, banana pudding. We had a three day weekend so I went for the recipe where you have to make your own pudding, none of that instant stuff. My maid was here with me so I go to teach her. Every time I make tarts or cookies she always says she can’t wait until she has an oven so she can get the recipe and make it herself. But with this recipe, you just need a stove.

We made two little dishes, one for her to take home and one for me. So that is four bananas down.

Tonight, I’ll be making banana muffins, probably a double batch, and take it into work tomorrow. That will take up four more. I can slice one onto my bowl of cereal in the morning and then eat another for lunch, there’s two.

Banana chips are something I’ll make overnight, taking at least four more out of the mix, but I’m still left with 16.

Recipezaar.com has something called Banana Chicken, a traditional African dish. If I get really ambitious I can make Bananas Foster but if I’m going to flambé something I need witnesses. Hmm ... I wonder what Andrea is doing on Thursday.

The Joy of Coca-Cola

2010-05-28T21:55:00.004-04:00

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Coca-Cola. It's truly my longest love affair.

I only had sips of Diet Coke until I was 11 or so. Then I could have my own drinks on the plane, yippee! And then finally I switched onto my once a day "regular" Coca-Cola pattern that has lasted until this day.

Let's do the math on that: 8 oz of Coke x 365 days a year x 8 or so years = 23,360 ounces of coke!!

That might be a little much. And what has all this Coca-Cola been doing to me? I did one homemade experiment when I was 12 and watched my last molar disintegrate in one day. According to Liz Lewis over at Blisstree.com says that one Coke is your entire day's sugar intake, 20 minutes the sugar is converted entirely to fat, energy/metabolism burst and then the crash. The upped dopamine production explains why it's so addictive.

It's not healthy but it can be a part of an overall healthier aspect. It's about balance.

So what is that balance? It's not a Coke a day, that's for sure. But it could be a Coke a week and that's where I'll start. So then I can appreciate and enjoy the taste I love without compromising the idea of health. That sounds perfect to me.

Blog for a Better Life

2010-05-28T21:46:00.003-04:00

My dear friend Lisa suggested that I create a blog project to keep me writing and to keep me accountable. Something where I feel compelled to write. So I've come up with this: blogging about my search for a fuller life.

Now what do I mean about a fuller life? I've already found Jesus, so that's the answer in and of itself. I'm talking about the food I eat, what I do when get home from work, what I'm reading, what I'm writing, what I'm learning. I spend so much time wasting time. Doing silly things that aren't productive but aren't restful at the same time. I'm a huge fan of down time but even the down time can be more recharging than what I'm currently after. So this blog will be my homework, my place to feel accountable for this better life or even to start a conversation about it.

The parameters to start: entries twice a week for a year about what I'm doing. I thought about having an organization like two months on food, one month on language, three months on books but that's beside the point. This isn't a flash in the pan. This is something to help me reorient myself to a fuller life.

I've made a public commitment, no backing out now. May the force be with me.

The life and death of a website

2010-05-15T15:23:00.002-04:00

I googled Amy Winehouse today a) because someone commented on a picture of her on facebook and b) to see what exactly was up with her these days. Apparently she is not in good health and I remember hearing how her hard-partying ways had ruined her voice for good. It's sad to see talent go like that. But what's also sad in a way is how her website, once oft-visited now in the trash heap of music history, is not quite sure what to do with itself.

Amy is apparently producing music for a young singer named Dionne and most of the posts are about her, not the site's wayward namesake. A post from Dionne about her new cd another one gushing that she met Justin Beiber (who is, imho, just the latest confection invented by a marketing department). Oh, and Amy's doing a clothing line.

But it got me thinking about the nature of the website for artists especially - what happens when the band breaks up, the magic wears out or the drugs take the gift? Do they just go on into eternity in some corner of the internet?

I did some searching around and it looks like N*Sync has opted for the glory days photo and a greatest hits ad. Hanson's got a video of new music - who knew? But what about in 20 years - is the site still there? Is someone really getting paid to maintain these things or is it JC puttering around in his basement?

And at some point, does continuing to maintain that website just become embarrassing?

Yes, yes it does. I give you johnedwards.com

Two Tomato Special

2010-04-25T21:36:00.004-04:00

When I lived in New York, I was ace at cooking for myself. I had limited fridge and shelf space so I had it down to an art. I never even had to throw something away because it went bad.

Sometime between then and now, I've lost the gift.

Currently, my fridge is stacked with, among other things, bags of heavy whipping cream, black olives (which I don't even really like) and three canisters of parmesan cheese. So for dinner I can usually make ... exactly nothing. But tonight, a spark of my former self appeared in the form of two Roma tomatoes.

These tomatoes were the last of four that my maid brought me from the store last Friday and were close to expiring. I have pasta so I thought I would make a pomodoro sauce. But as I begin, no garlic cloves, no fresh basil ... depression sets in as I contemplate eating the tomatoes, raw, with the dregs of my ranch dressing.

Now, if anyone ever tells you hope is an onion, believe them, because it is. I decided instead to saute an onion I found in the veggie drawer in some olive oil, throw in some tomatoes, a healthy dash of garlic salt and, fie on all you foodies, DRIED basil. A little farfalle as the base, some parmesan cheese and voila, I successfully made myself a real dinner for the first time in weeks! I feel like an Italian grandmother but without the lace-up oxfords and wool sweater.

It might not be Chicken Cordon Bleu but it certainly beats Lucky Charms.

So about the Galapagos

2010-01-25T22:54:00.006-05:00

Dear friends,

By now you know that if I say "coming soon" I mean "before my 90th birthday." That being said, I'm going to try to play catch up with the blogging because Nicaragua has given me some funny material to work with ... just don't hold your breath waiting for that weekly post.

So ... the Galapagos:

I saw a lot and I mean a lot of iguanas.

I swam with sea lions! And they are scary! They hurtle towards you underwater and then turn away right before they touch you. We did snorkeling twice. The second time we literally hopped over the side of the boat and into a mass of fish in every color. The sea turtles were so graceful.

The gigantic turtles were very, very comical. At the Charles Darwin Center, many looked like they had a little too much fun the night before.

I swear he's alive! And, from the following video, you might begin to understand how "survival of the fittest" is maybe not their strong point:

Boobies (I know you giggled):

Our Spanish professor/tour guide extraordanaire/faux father-figure, Manuel, riding on top of the tourist van with us. Trips are much more fun when ducking under trees and holding on for dear life:

A hotel, Swiss Family Robinson-style:

The lasting impression I have is the preciousness of these tiny little dots of earth in the middle of a vast, powerful ocean. When traveling between islands, once you lose sight of land, it is just miles and miles of blue waves. It's a beautiful feeling to realize the smallness of one human being before the enormity of creation.

Save the Turtles ... and the Boobies!

Continental Ecuador

2009-07-14T22:20:00.011-04:00

I went to Ecuador for three weeks - surprise! I did a three week immersion program with two weeks living with a family in Quito and a third week on the Galapagos Islands with a classmate to do a project on the balance between environmental protection and the economic development of the tourism industry.

The view from my window in Quito:

The city of Quito has 6 million inhabitants and, like most cities in South America, has all the crime and pollution problems that come with it. There are poverty issues, indigenous rights issues and, in my experience, some of kindest people you'll ever meet. The city is very beautifully situated in the mountains and is the second highest capital city in the world, second only to La Paz, Bolivia. Quito Colonial looks very Spanish ... probably because it was built by them.

Museo de San Francisco

One weekend my friend and I went to Baños, a city three hours south of Quito. It was a lot more rural and gorgeous!!

The city:

We climbed the mountain next to the city because we wanted to see the volcano. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy, but you can tell we tried:

Well worth the view in general though:

The sunset while we were up there so we ended up bumming a ride home from a very, very nice Ecuadorian couple who had driven their SUV up the side of the mountain. Apparently the volcano we had hiked up next to had been smoking for a few days. Umm, yikes and awesome at the same time!

Baños is also famous for it's taffy and hot springs. Here is a man making taffy (very tasty):

I also visited the Equator and stood in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at the same time!

That's it for now ... Galapagos post will be forthcoming.

New song I love

2009-07-14T22:16:00.003-04:00

This song is in my head and I love it. Ecuador and Galapagos Islands posts to follow soon.

Show me what I'm looking for
-Carolina Liar

Wait, I'm wrong
Should've done better than this
Please, I'll be strong
I'm finding it hard to resist

So show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost
Oh Lord I've been waiting for you
I'll pay any cost
Save me from being confused
Show me what I'm looking for
Show me what I'm looking for
Oh Lord

Don't let go
I've wanted this far too long
Mistakes become regrets
I've learned to love abuse
Please show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost
Oh Lord I've been waiting for you
I'll pay any cost
Save me from being confused
Show me what I'm looking for
Show me what I'm looking for
Oh Lord

Show me what I'm looking for
Show me what I'm looking for
Show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost
Oh Lord I've been waiting for you
I'll pay any cost
To save me from being confused
Wait, I'm wrong
I can't do better than this
I'll pay any cost
Save me from being confused

Show me what I'm looking for
Show me what I'm looking for
Show me what I'm looking for
Show me what I'm looking for
Oh Lord

Secretaries of State and other distant relatives

2009-04-20T22:02:00.004-04:00

My A-100 class (the beginning training course for Foreign Service Officers) was officially sworn in last Friday. The ceremony was great with all of our friends and family members there. But one person in particular made it extra special - former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger!

I wrote him a letter two weeks ago to introduce myself - with a last name like ours, we're definitely related somewhere down the line. To my surprise and incredible excitement, he called me on April 11, just a day after he got my letter. We had a great conversation and I asked him to our swearing-in ceremony. But apparently he had decided he wanted to try to come up to administer the oath of office even before I asked!

All of my classmates were so excited to have him to swear us in. Usually classes are sworn in by an Under Secretary which is cool but not quite the same level as a SecState. He said in his remarks before administering the oath that my letter was the reason why he was there. Because us Eagleburgers, with a crazy last name like that, have to stick together. Secretary Eagleburger is exceptionally meaningful to Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) because he is the only career FSO to become Secretary of State! All the other Secretaries were political appointees with different backgrounds. But not Secretary Eagleburger - 52 years ago he was in the same position that my classmates and I are. He is rightly a Foreign Service legend and it was such an honor to be sworn in by him.

Afterwards, he and his son took my family out to lunch at his favorite restaurant in the D.C. area, the Peking Gourmet Inn. The food was amazing. The real treat was the stories and advice. I mean, in addition to being SecState he worked with Henry Kissinger when he was National Security Advisor. This man had a truly amazing career in the State Department. He gave his whole life in service to his country. It's an example that I'm striving to live up to and mighty big footsteps to be following in!

I kept pinching myself that one letter that I never really expected to be responded to ended with my class being sworn in by Secretary Eagleburger! God is good and every day I feel like I get another confirmation that I am exactly where I need to be.

And we have our heading

2009-04-20T21:46:00.003-04:00

Some of you might have gotten the news from facebook but, come October, I will be a resident of Managua, Nicaragua! No lie, I was really hoping to go to Asia but Managua was one of my top choices among the Spanish-speaking posts. Coming in with a language, there is a general assumption that they're going to make you use it, which is a good policy. To use an old school phrase - I am so stoked! I've already bought two handy guidebooks:

So what will I be doing until October? I'll be taking a few months of brush-up Spanish. I've forgotten a lot since my last Spanish course three years ago. The class is pretty intense. The nice thing is that everyone is really motivated to learn the language though. Learning Spanish and all about Central America is my job until October. I'm very happy about that!

If you've been paying attention, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has been making waves a la Hugo Chavez. Slate even goes so far as to say that Ortega is vying for the position of Latin American leader least-liked by the United States. It won't be a boring two years, that's for sure.

Some adjustments for me (besides the whole foreign country thing):

Summer weather all the time - coping mechanism: surfing or, as I like to think of it, beach diplomacy

I might have to sell Henry (the Honda) - coping mechanism: four wheel drive SUV to be named "Don Quixote de la Managua"

There a ton of my fellow classmates in Central and South America so I should be set for vacations ... so long as I get the time off. This is going to be awesome :)

Spoiled for choice

2009-03-26T19:24:00.002-04:00

One of the most exciting/weird/nerve-wracking/out-of-body experiences of the Foreign Service is being handed your bid list. The bid list is quite simply a list of all the posts that you have the opportunity to go to. These posts are in every corner of the globe - literally. Some of the cities I had no idea what country it's in, some of them I've been to before and some of them aren't very far away at all. And then you have to rank them.

For some people, this should be an easy process. Not for me. You see, I want to go to every country in the world, bar none. I made a draft bid list and then completely changed my mind the next day, followed by another change of mind the day after. I wish I had four lives so I could go multiple places at once! I am truly spoiled for choice.

The best thing about this process is that I know I will be happy wherever I get sent - really and truly, wherever! Every country, every post has it's own element of adventure - it's just about finding it. As a Christian, the most freeing thing about the process is being able to pray over the list and know, with absolute certainty, that you're going to end up where you need to be. I trust God's will far more than I trust my own and I want His will to be done in my life.

One of the other Christians I know in the class said the same thing about filling out her preferences. We laced our bid list in prayer and then literally let go of all control over the next few years of our lives.

The moment of truth is in two weeks ... I'm excited.

Your tax dollars at work

2009-03-02T21:11:00.005-05:00

I was sworn in today as a Foreign Service Officer so I am now, quite officially, a government employee. The ceremony was really quick (a more formal one follows at the end of training) but there's just something really special about pledging to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States." I love U.S. history and pledging to defend all that the Constitution entails makes me feel like a part of history.

My commute to work was hilarious! I woke up to this:

Henry in the snow

Yeah, and that was after I had already started clearing some of the snow off! What ensued was "California-girl drives in the snow" which actually worked out quite well. I think the final snow tally was 9 inches. When I reached one of the highways:

A few people were basically stalled while trying to drive up the hill. I ended up driving around them because coming to a near standstill was doing nothing for my car's traction. Go Henry Go! Luckily, the government was on a two hour delay so I was not late for work. Usually they would have canceled work for the federal agencies but since President Obama joked about a cancelation in January for a little ice, they're more cautious. All the schools were off but I'm glad to have had the driving-to-work-in-the-snow experience. My wellies (rainboots for Americans) were worth their weight in gold!

Stay tuned for a post recapping my trip to Europe - I just haven't had the time to dedicate to it yet!

Best License Plate EVER

2009-01-14T21:43:00.003-05:00

FSHNCHPS Seen on I-77 in Charlotte. Awesome.

Semi-live blogging the Golden Globes

2009-01-11T19:48:00.042-05:00

I'm watching the Golden Globes because I think Slumdog Millionaire was a beautiful film and I have hope that it might win! But, I understand the Brangelina machine which means The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is already a favorite. Awards shows are full of politics but I can dream of talent and artistry being recognized, right?

EDIT: Grammar, punctuation, etc. is poor. I'm using " " and ' ' whenever and wherever I like. Don't judge me.

Red Carpet:

7:45pm - Renee Zellweger's outfit appears to have a black sheer top? Color me confused.

7:47 pm - "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban was a great song. And now, hearing it for the millionth time with a syrupy-sweet montage, I'd really be ok never hearing it again. Sorry Josh.

7:50 pm - Jeremy Piven annoys me. The "My mom is my date" schtick is kind of getting old. I mean, it's sweet and all but it seems like he is just playing the 'aww' card. Maybe it would help if I watched Entourage?

7:55 pm - Gran Torino looks really compelling. Less amazing, the fact that the trailer was followed by the awkwardly staged '$5 Footlong' Subway ad. No, those are not real construction workers!

7:56 pm - Call me crazy, but I like Tom Cruise. He seems like a very nice and kind guy escorting Katie Holmes' parents to the awards. I also liked Valkyrie and fully endorse you going to see it. The critics were overly harsh and I think it was very well done.

8 pm - ... and the show begins.

8:02 pm - First winner, Kate Winslet for Best Supporting Actress in "The Reader." I really love her and she has been nominated so many times without collecting as many trophies as I think she deserves. Her dress is great, btw, black and simple.

8:06 pm - Springsteen wins for Best Song with "The Wrestler." The piece is great but does this mean it's 'the most famous nominee wins' night? Because that's really predictable and no very much fun for me. As to the movie, the first time I saw "The Wrestler" preview, I had no interest in it at all. After the third time, it's become a must see. Also, I saw Mickey Rourke in London once. Maybe I owe it to him to see his movie.

8:14 pm - Rumer Willis is Miss Golden Globe. I don't get her. She reminds me of Paris Hilton but instead of being a hotel heiress she's an acting heiress. People are already calling her talented but has she been in anything other than "The House Bunny"? Is she actively pursuing other roles? I'm not so sure ... do an indie film, girl. Get some street cred.

8:16 pm - 'John Adams' gets an award! You should also run out and see that mini-series. Right now. Go. Watch It. Wilkinson was amazing, as was Stephen Dillane who played Thomas Jefferson. I wish he had been at least been nominated.

8:18 pm - Laura Dern wins for Best Supporting Actress in "Recount." I had not seen any of the series, mini-series or tv movies nominated so I have no comment. Bashing Bush appears to be the fast track to hardware though. And the first political comment of the night is made. Just thank your Mom please.

8:34 pm - Just lost minutes of witty commentary, tragic. What you missed - Zachary Quinto as Spock is perfect, Anna Paquin is possibly British? Occasionally British? Dialectically creative? Someone help me out here.

8:36 pm - Ladies and Gentleman, Ricky Gervais, bringing his drink! Can he host an awards show please?! Another item for your Netflix queue, Extras, all seasons, brilliant.

8:39 pm - Jonas Brothers walk on stage (looking quite smart in their suits) and they pan to the Cyrus family. Could we let the move on, Mr. Cameraman, please?

8:41 pm - Wall E wins! Ok, it breaks my 'big name winner' rule. Who cares, it was great and deserves it. In my humble opinion, of course.

8:43 pm - And Sally Hawkins wins, a lesser known actress, lovely! I think I need to see Happy Go Lucky. Is it on video? In a theatre? Time to utilize Google.

8:47 pm - Citi sponsors this too? I never noticed how funny their slogan is now - 'Citi never sleeps.' If they were awake through the massive risk-taking, financial card tricks that led to economic doom, maybe we should see what they're like when they really are asleep. Just a thought.

8:53 pm - Drew Barrymore's hair is huge, tousled and very blonde. Who cares, she's kooky and it kind of works for her.

8:56 pm - 'John Adams' wins best miniseries!

8:58 pm - Heath Ledger wins for "Dark Knight." I think he's heading for an Oscar.

9:03 pm - Tom Hanks has the same glasses as Erskine Bowles, UNC system President.

Mr. Hanks:

Mr. Bowles:

9:07 pm - "Waltz With Bashir" wins Best Foreign Picture. Hello Netflix queue update. Is it possible to win best foreign picture and best picture overall? I think it should be. Otherwise, being a best foreign film and not best film is like saying "You're good, not good enough, but we have to respect the subtitles. White lettering on black, nice touch."

9:11 pm - Another one for "John Adam!" Laura Linney is wonderful. She won the for her role too and had one of the best tongue-in-cheek political comments - she dedicated the award to all the community organizers in our country's history because, after all, the founders started out as community organizers too. Clever and not completely gratuitous.

9:19 pm - Slumdog Millionaire WINS best screenplay!!!!!!!! It was based off the book "Q&A" which I am very interested in reading ... if I can get my hands on it.

9:22 pm - I don't watch much 30 Rock. I have the sneaking suspicion that Alec Baldwin is actually just playing himself in the show. Actually, I get the impression that everyone is just playing themselves on 30 Rock. Except for the Intern. He is brills!

9:27 pm - "Happy Go Lucky" is out on DVD. Cheers Google.

9:31 pm - And Paul Giamatti wins for "John Adams!" My movies are having a pretty good night :)

9:32 pm - I will say this, Rumer Willis looks really good with the red hair. Her dress is also completely gorgeous.

9:35 pm - I spoke too soon, "30 Rock" beat "The Office." Of course, the season that really deserved it was season two, by far my favorite. Maybe next year? Please?

9:42 pm - Are the commercial breaks getting longer? I think yes. Now we return with "Mamma Mia" clips. If I were in the movie, I would want to be the woman who sings "Take a Chance on Me" at the end. Seems like it would be by far, the most fun.

9:45pm - "Slumdog Millionaire" wins again!!!! I am about to cry, this is so wonderful to see a small-budget movie get some recognition!! The soundtrack is lovely, just take a listen here.

9:48 pm - No surprise, Tina Fey wins an award for 30 Rock. I've never warmed to her though. She's so insider- y and seems a little smug. And, of course, the TV show is about filming a show so it's a great big inside joke and plays right into the self-congratulating nature of award shows. Maybe I'm just a bitter Office fan. Could be, could be.

10:00 pm - Did Steven Spielberg have a part in every great American movie ever made? Hello, that's quite a resume.

10:14 pm - Slumdog Millionaire wins for Best Director!! Danny Boyle is great and his film, "Millions," is also worth checking out. It's very sweet and doesn't fall into the silliness of most movies focused on children.

10:20 pm - Colin Farrell wins for "In Bruges." I meant to see that movie and never did. Netflix calls. If you're still reading, bravo. I'm not even reading anymore.

10:25 pm - Michael Sheen in "Frost/Nixon" played Tony Blair rather convincingly in "The Queen." Now whenever I see the movie trailers, it's like Blair with retro hair is grilling Nixon. It's like the Twilight Zone of politics.

10:29 pm - "Vicky Cristina Bar thlona" wins - another movie I need to see. I'm going to be in Barthlona next week! Que emocionante.

10:39 pm - Wow, Kate Winslet wins two acting awards in one night! This time for "Revolutionary Road." I think her streak of being nominated and not winning is effectively broken. She forgot Angelina was nominated! Oh dear, not a good night for the Brangelina machine.

10:44 pm - "Mad Men" wins for Best Television Drama Series. That show is such perfect retro eye candy that it's odd to see the cast in modern clothing.

10:51 pm - Mickey Rourke wins Best Actor for "The Wrestler." I am more and more intrigued by this movie. And he thanked his dogs in his acceptance speech. I would thank my dog. We play a lot of fetch.

10:59 pm - Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Picture!!!!!!! And is four for four!!!!! For a movie filmed partially in Hindi, with virtually unknown actors and for only $15 million total, this is stunning that they have been able to get this kind of recognition. With the recent bombings in Mumbai, the success of a movie filmed in that city and, in many ways, about that city is sure to lift peoples spirits. I am so excited for the cast and the crew. They definitely deserve it.

Now onto the Oscars ... what will the nominations bring?

To toast the New Year, a poem

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

In Memoriam, [Ring out, wild bells]
by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

From Mumbai With Love

2008-12-23T00:08:00.003-05:00

Go see this movie.

With all the new films coming out on Christmas it might get pushed out of a lot of theaters so if you get a chance, I highly recommend it. That is all.

How evangelical are you?

2008-12-18T12:43:00.002-05:00

A quiz to see how much of an evangelical you are ... I am "backslidden" with a score of 50 - nearly unsaved!

http://www.larknews.com/guide/test.html

2008-12-10T17:54:00.002-05:00

The New York Times Magazine article ''Her Body, My Baby - My Adventures with a Surrogate Mom'' has been causing quite a stir. It is every bit as elitist as this Wall Street Journal columnist accuses it of being. I cannot, however, dismiss the very real, class-blind pain the author seems to feel about not being able to have children.

I think the saddest thing to me is that this incredibly wealthy couple never even considered adoption. The husband has six children from a previous marriage, is that not enough progeny? Is there a stigma - are adopted children not really one's ''own'' children?

This is what concerns me the most about the abortion debate. I wonder what would happen if pro-life advocates spent more of their time advocating adoption rather than hauling out gruesome pictures for shock value? If every able pro-life advocate simply adopted a child there would be a waiting list for children. Then you could tell pregnant teens that there is a place for their child, then you could tell poor, unwed mothers that there is another option for them if they're not ready to care for children.

Adoption is not an easy process. There is obviously a potential for emotional baggage that does not exist when a child lives with his or her biological parents. I wish the New York Times would write an article about an experience with adoption. Or rather, a series of stories of parents adopting both domestically and internationally. I feel like that would be a far better use of the close to $1 million the couple spent on treatments.

Where I've been

2008-12-06T22:23:00.003-05:00

For the past three months I've been in New York at Bloomberg. A video about the company from Financial Follies:

Bloomberg "The Tour"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YX-3u_ke7w

2008-12-06T22:09:00.002-05:00

Keane is my favorite modern band. I love the way they sound, I love Tom Chaplin's voice and I love their lyrics. Their new CD came out about two months ago. It took a week for me to warm to the changes they've made to their sound but now it's thoroughly under my skin. "Love is the End" is one of my favorite tracks with these lyrics:

Take it back, don't let it die
Or rage against the fall of night
Because I still do depend on you
So don't say those words that run me through

You can listen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYz4YTze6OQ

It reminds me of all the goodbyes I've had to say and the many people I wish I only had hellos for.

Almost Famous

2008-09-20T11:22:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I have to post. All the emails were depressing me.

One of my new friends in the city is a girl I met on the subway on the way home from Redeemer. She, Elizabeth H., is from South Carolina and moved to the city to pursue acting, awesome! We went to Bible study on Tuesday and on the way home we met Dakota Fanning:

The funniest thing about that whole situation is that two days later one of Elizabeth's friends found a video of us getting our picture taken with Dakota on a random movie site - ha! Here is the video, we're at the end. Yes, I'm almost famous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuopISB5nNM

You say good-bye, and I say hello

2008-08-24T21:55:00.004-04:00

I am so excited for London 2012!

I really, really hope that either Sir Paul, Ringo Starr or Elton John are involved in the opening ceremony. That would be hilarious. And bagpipes, to celebrate the Scottish who, by that time, might mount a "Free Scotland" campaign the likes of the "Free Tibet" protests in China. Or maybe the planning committee can just have a man in a kilt run on stage and shout "Freedom" at the top of his lungs.

I loved that the bit in the Beijing closing games showed the incredible diversity that London has - a girl of Southeast Asian descent accepting the football (soccer ball), Leona Lewis singing and Jimmy Page playing one of the most memorable rock guitar riffs of all time. And of course, David Beckham, apparently the international symbol for Britain.

I love London :)

Bright Lights, Big City

2008-08-22T10:13:00.009-04:00

I'm moving to New York City on Sept. 1! I am beyond excited about living there and about the internship with Bloomberg. For those of you that don't know, Bloomberg is a financial wire service and one of my dream companies to work for.

I found a place on Craig's List and one of my best friends from college is living in the city already. I'm so excited to spend time with her. The Fratelli's are playing on Sept. 5 and Ugly Betty is still filming in the city so maybe we can stalk the cast - lol!

Arizona finished up really well. They really are a family in that newsroom. They brought in cupcakes, passed around cards if it was someone's birthday or someone's last day. My editor had a dish of chocolate for people to grab a snack out of when they visited her desk. They had a little party for my on my last day which was so sweet of them. I really learned a lot and, this is funny, but I feel like I can finally say "I'm a writer" with authority. I am. I write all the time and I will make a living by my figurative pen. That is my gift and God doesn't give people gifts that he doesn't want them to use.

After my last day at the Republic, I went to California for a week to see all of my friends there. My mom, sister and grandmother flew into Phoenix and then drove with me:

It was clearly exciting. We had a big party on Sunday to see a lot of our friends all at once. My BFFs and I rode bikes to the beach one day - even more exciting because neither one of them had been on a bike in 10 years! But we made it. We rode 10 miles down Huntington Beach to the pier.

We also went to Disneyland with a whole bunch of people on Wednesday and I got to see Leo, a long lost friend from Edinburgh who works at the Happiest Place On Earth. I grew up in Disneyland, seriously. I've probably been about 60 times, an estimate based on going three times a year for 20 years. Some years I had a season pass so I went more than three times and for the past six years I've only gone three times because I've lived in NC. There really is no way to count exactly how many times I've gone but I've been as excited as a six-year-old every single time.

We also went to tea and wore hats, because we love tea ... and hats:

Then, it was time to make the drive home. I followed Amy, another Republic intern who lives in Shreveport, La. The drive was long but the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. Case in point, Las Cruces:

I'm going to put a lot more pictures on facebook eventually. The captions will add more detail, I promise!

Now I'm at home until it's time to catch my flight to New York. I'm trying to sort through all my stuff from college and read the books I want to so I'm prepared for the internship. Bloomberg sent me some books and I've just now had the time to crack the first one. That's the one frustrating thing about a long drive - so much time to think about what you need to do and yet the complete inability to do anything. I did stop in Jackson, Miss., because I wanted to see the capitol. And it was gorgeous on the inside but my camera battery died so you just get the outside:

Ok, that's all for now. I think I'm going to make my blog subscription only because I get creeped out that random people could find it. And, I'm also re-thinking my blog's purpose. I didn't intend for it to be a personal blog but about ideas and things I read in the newspaper. But, somehow, it's a personal blog now. I can't decide how I feel about that.

These are a few of my favorite reads

2008-08-05T01:31:00.003-04:00

I am a magazine junkie. I've taken to trolling the racks at bookstores, picking up a few that the most interesting (or have the prettiest pictures). Right now, I can only afford The Economist, but my dream subscription list would look like this:

The Economist - duh
Wired - Tech nerds unite!
Smithsonian - Where John Adams still makes the cover.
Atlantic Monthly - Questions about the U.S. nuclear arsenal? They've got an article for that.
Vanity Fair - Pretty pictures, yes, but top notch essays make the sale.
Rolling Stone - But if they keep printing 18 page political rants I'm switching to Spin. It's the music, stupid.

Honorable mentions go to Vogue (mostly adverts now, unfortch) and Portfolio (A hybrid finance and fashion mag - for the Gucci wearing banker in your life).

Dream newspapers? The local paper wherever I live plus The Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times - pink is the gray (Cheers if you get that).

Regrets

2008-07-28T13:36:00.002-04:00

I've met people who constantly say they have no regrets. They don't even believe in having regrets. How is that possible? I've already got a million.

Is it just deluding themselves into thinking that everything they did was alright? I'm such an awful decision maker. I regret everything.

I'll probably regret this post later.

The brothers Jonas

2008-07-21T00:42:00.004-04:00

I was recently introduced (via green screen) to the Jonas Brothers:

Ok, ok, they are young (Nick-15, Joe-18, Kevin-20) but I have to admit they are all very good looking and have some fashion sense. I have become a bit of a, well, fan of these three. I went to their concert in Phoenix with one of the other interns out of curiosity and because their song "The SOS" is so dang catchy. Every time the screen would show one of their faces the whole tween audience would shriek with happiness - and that was before the show even started!

Teen romance is so uncomplicated - guy likes girl, girl likes guy and pretty soon there are notes decorated with hearts, checking yes or no, and earnest declarations of love. It's vulnerable, sweet and absolutely true to the people involved. It was great to relive some teen-idol moments. Except I loved N*Sync and the then-closeted Lance Bass.

The brothers themselves seem like really nice people and really, really hope they don't end up in rehab in the next few years.
One of the coolest things about the show is that the Jonas Brothers were the back-up band for the opening act. They just walked out in plain black clothing, said hello and then introduced their opening act. Keeping egos permanently in check will be a chore. They all wear promise rings and I find myself praying that the really keep that promise. The odds that they will come through fame with their normal sensibilities intact are slim to none. They are so sweet and innocent - I don't want them to change! Please Jonas brothers, remember where you came from!

Nogales and other vacation hot spots

2008-07-02T00:09:00.003-04:00

Actual conversation my cousin and I had this evening:

Sarah: Hey, you want to go to Mexico?
Me: Sure, why not.

Snapshots of a Western summer

2008-06-25T01:52:00.011-04:00

This church is in Guadalupe, Arizona. The town has canceled their contract with the Sheriff's office because they sent so many immigration round-ups through town ... which begs the question: Does anyone come to help when they call 911?

A view of Phoenix from Camelback Mountain.

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

2008-06-25T01:24:00.007-04:00

I bought this CD a few days ago and I've absolutely fallen in love with it. I've been a fan since their early Yellow/Parachutes days and this album is a return to that mellow, soulful sound [edit: I think the word I'm looking for is not so much soulful but melodic - but describing music with words never quite hits the mark]. It's definitely a departure from X&Y - which I liked but it seemed, for the most part, about trying to create a whole album of songs similar to the massively successful Clocks. I highly recommend this new album. It also has the best album art I've seen in awhile. Some favorite tracks:

Lost
Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love
Violet Hill
Viva La Vida

Oh Mr. Dobson, please stop talking

2008-06-24T16:03:00.004-04:00

James Dobson has put on a classic display of an evangelical leader who has decided that he is the moral compass by which the United States should measure itself. He was the main story on CNN, criticizing Obama for his interpretation of the Bible. Obama basically said that the Bible was not the most practical document by which to decide how to rule a country. He noted that Leviticus is very law-oriented but then you have the Sermon on the Mount.

I would hope that most Christians understand the Old Covenant basis of the Old Testament vs. the New Covenant formed on the basis of mercy through Christ in the New Testament. Which is not to say that the Old Testament is irrelevant - it's not - rather the Old Testament is the essential history and backstory on what it is that Christ later accomplished with His death on the cross. Painfully short summary on that but I could go on for days about the links between Old and New Testament - so amazing and encouraging ... and I digress.

I always have trouble when religious leaders try to interject that there is a Biblical way to do politics or government or universal health care. Jesus wasn't a politician. His one comment about government was in Romans 13:1-7. His basic message is to submit to the authorities because, even if they do not acknowledge it, they are there because God has willed it to be so. Pay your taxes, obey the laws and if you don't obey the laws, you're going to get punished and that is just. Let me know your thoughts if you have heard it interpreted or expounded upon in another way.

Regardless of the veracity of Obama's interpretation of the Bible, the manner in which Dobson responded was completely lacking in grace. I'm getting more and more upset with the whole tone of Focus on the Family in regards to politics. I went to a rally for for the family that he put on. I wanted to leave half way through. It was a rally full of hate for homosexuals, not full of the awareness that we are all sinners in the hands of angry yet incomprehensibly merciful God. In situations like that, I really find it easier to love murders and prostitutes rather than arrogant Christians.

Dobson, like so many other christian leaders, has made himself a judge. That is a dangerous thing and wholly un-Biblical. Please, Mr. Dobson, find a way to inject your comments with more grace.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2
"If I speak in the tongues of men and angels,
but have not love,
I have become sounding brass or a tinkling symbol.

And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing."

I want to learn Korean ... and German and French and Chinese ... and maybe Italian

2008-06-23T23:29:00.002-04:00

I might buy every Rosetta Stone program known to man. There are 30 of them. Maybe by the time I'm 80 ...

The Arizona Republic is running a weeklong series on sustainability and it is awesome. Online doesn't do it justice because of all the pop out boxes with carbon cutting facts. In it I learned that if you keep your blinds closed your house uses less energy because the temperature is kept fairly constant. Hmm... I think I will amend my prior resolution to stating that I will attempt to utilize natural light but not to the point that I keep all my blinds open and thus put further stress on my thermostat.

Recycle, it's not that hard

2008-06-17T22:20:00.003-04:00

As time passes I realize more and more how much college has changed me. When I first moved in with my cousin in Arizona I asked where the recycle bin was. The response - we don't have one. What?! Her condo complex just didn't have recycle bins. Coming from uber-green Chapel Hill, this was quite a shock.

So, much to the bemusement of my co-workers, I bring my recycling to put in the bins at work. But now that recycling takes a bit of effort, I took some time to find out how I can do more to cut down my carbon footprint. I calculated it online and by driving a fuel efficient car and recycling everything my footprint is already lower than the average. But here is my very simple game plan for cutting down even further:

-Cut down on consumption in general.
A lot of people are looking for green products, green clothing. But the most eco-friendly item is no item at all.

-Keep the lights off unless absolutely necessary.
This will make a big difference for me because I'm a notorious night owl meaning I use a lot of electricity when I'm up at all hours. The sun gets up at about 5:15am here and sets around 8:30pm. That's more than enough light to get most of my work done in. I'm waking up early to get some of my reading done early and opening the windows for natural light throughout the day.

-No more straws.
This one might seem really silly but I could cut down a lot on my trash if I just didn't get straws or caps with my drinks. Sounds silly but it's crazy enough to help a little, right?

Ok, so this post might sound like an infomercial for being eco-friendly but seriously if you're not at least recycling all your paper, plastic and glass then you're probably being a bit lazy about it. But wait, some of you say, what about the water resources used in recycling - that's non-renewable. I've considered it but I feel like there is still a net positive outcome based upon the amount of space saved by recycling instead of just throwing things away.

If anything, blame California. We had programs in elementary school telling us to reduce, recycle, reuse. I drank the green kool aid and it's tasty.

It's too darn HOT

2008-06-08T23:22:00.002-04:00

Actually, it hasn't been that hot at all yet. Right around the 100s which isn't too bad. Maybe I'll get a tan ... but this is me we're talking about so I'll probably just continue to uphold my reputation as perma-white.

I've finished my first week interning. I had my first story in The Arizona Republic on Friday. Front page of the business section, not bad. It might be silly but my heart skips a beat when I see my byline in the paper. Maybe the feeling will go away as time goes on but I love it. I love seeing something that I wrote and reported in print. To look around the coffee shop and see others reading what I wrote. It was about gas prices so it was pretty routine, nothing groundbreaking but still it was mine. To say I'm enjoying my time at the Republic and at the Reynolds Center would be a gross understatement.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2008/06/06/20080606biz-priceygas0606.html

The story that I'm working on now will run this Saturday. It is a warm and fuzzy piece but sometimes I feel more pressure with these stories. Such pieces are about people, real living breathing people and I want so much to do justice to their lives and to their personalities. Numbers are cold and unfeeling. 0.5% is never going to read my story and be disappointed in my characterization of him as one half of one percent.

The odd trade-off is that I write and rewrite so much during the day that I'm too exhausted to keep up my writing personally. I'm not writing the next "Great American Novel!" or anything grand. But I do miss the achey knuckles and inky index finger that signify a rather productive writing session. My journal is filled with descriptions of things as 'great,' 'awesome' and 'fun.' Blah. I have become linguistically challenged.

On the other hand, I have taken the time to catch up on some films. Some would say that movies, television offer nothing to the soul but a bit of time to be numb. Nay, nay I say(!) - and not just because one of my dearest friends is an aspiring screenwriter/director. Cinema can still be an art form.

One of my recent favorites is "Paris, je t'aime" (Paris, I love you). It consists of 18 five minute films by different directors about love in Paris. No, not the kind of love in a Reese Witherspoon film (although I love those too!) but different sorts of love in all stages - from first bud to the final, fallen petal. I highly recommend the movie. In five minutes the directors and actors truly show their skill in connecting with audiences and making a very moving point. It isn't all happily-ever-afters but a slice of life in the city. It is a wonderful concept and well executed. I hear they are making one called "New York, I love you" but I worry that it will not have any of the sweetness or grace of this film. I feel like this is a singular achievement but I would be very pleased if I were wrong and "New York, I love you" turned out to be similarly accomplished.

A bit more transcribing to do before I can sleep.

Westward

2008-05-21T21:50:00.004-04:00

I start the drive to Arizona in two days. Weather expected upon arrival - sunny with a high of 99. I can't wait until July! Actually, I'm secretly hoping the hottest day of the year will be on my birthday which is late July. It hit 122 (or was it 121?) right around my birthday when I was like 12ish. That's a city record for Mesa. I figure the 23rd has a good shot, it's always been a good day to me. It would be nice to see it ride into 2008 history. I have big dreams, what can I say?

I'm really ready to be there though. The time home has been great but transitions are just hard because of all the waiting. I talked to my cousin (and soon to be roommate) for awhile the other day, switched the address on my Economist subscription (the most important thing) and have mapquested my routes to work. I'm ready and set but Saturday has the go.

Now it's waiting, wait, wait, wait.

EDIT: In 1995 (when I was about to turn 9) Mesa hit a record high of 118 and Phoenix hit a record high for July of 121. The all-time high for Phoenix was 122 which was set in 1990 in June. My memory was a little fuzzy!

Happy Birthday Bill!

2008-04-24T00:34:00.003-04:00

In honor of Shakespeare's birthday today, my picture was the featured photo of the day on Webshots! I'd like to thank my left knee for always being there for me and the English for giving the world Shakespeare and partially contributing to my inability to tan.

To be rather than to seem

2008-04-22T00:52:00.003-04:00

1 John 3:16-18

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

"But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

Seen in Chapel Hill

2008-04-16T23:16:00.001-04:00

Written on the tip jar at Gumby's:

Tipping is:
A) A city in China
B) Something that happens to cows when people get drunk
C) A nice way to say "Hey, thanks for making me food so I don't have to cook."

This is why I have them on speed dial.

Shirin Ebadi - This is Iran

2008-04-15T23:53:00.003-04:00

Below is an article I wrote for the Daily Tar Heel about a speech by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. She is fiercely intelligent and stubborn in her insistence upon the recognition of human rights for women and minorities in Iran. She's this tiny woman - maybe 5'1" - and she takes on the Iranian government everyday through court cases no one else would touch. She knows there is a danger but, as she says in the article, if she thought about it, she wouldn't be able to keep up her work. It was an honor to hear her speak.

Nobel Laureate speaks on human rights, Iran at Duke
By: Amy Eagleburger, Senior Writer

Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, gave her keynote speech at Duke University on Friday in her native Persian.

The Persian-speaking audience first erupted in cheers at her pronouncement, followed by the English-speaking audience once her words were translated: "We love Iran, and we will not permit Iran to become another Iraq."

Throughout her speech Ebadi forcefully addressed the need for human rights to be the backbone of every democracy and spoke of the state of human rights in her country, Iran.

In her memoir, "Iran Awakening," Ebadi said she was not aware how high up she was on the prize's shortlist. When she got the surprising call in 2003, she was about to fly back to her home in Tehran after attending a conference in Paris.

Her continued commitment to pursuing justice, even at a high personal cost, is unwavering.

"In general, all defenders of human rights are subject to danger wherever they are," Ebadi said. "But if I want to spend my time thinking about these issues I could not do my work."

Her speech was the keynote address in the weekend-long "Moral Mathematics: The Science of Human Rights" conference, sponsored by the Duke Human Rights Center and RTI International.

In 1975 Ebadi became the first woman to preside as a judge in an Iranian court.

She served in the Tehran courts until 1980. The victory of the Islamic Revolution the year before dictated that women were no longer permitted to be judges, and she was dismissed and given a clerical position in the legal office.

"The life of a woman is worth half of that as a man," she said of Iranian gender policies. "If a woman and a man get into an accident on the street, the compensation for the woman is half that of a man."

Despite the large gulf between the legal rights of men and women in Iran, 65 percent of all Iranian college students are women.

In the face of such discrimination, Ebadi co-founded the Association for Support of Children's Rights in 1995 and the Human Rights Defence Centre in 2001. She continues to take on human rights cases in Iran that few other lawyers will touch, enduring prison time on one occasion for her efforts.

"We cannot use the excuse of Islam to violate human rights," she said.

She stressed that, despite Iran's struggles, the right answer is not another war.

"A military attempt, even with the intent of bringing democracy to a country, not only damages a country but brings violence," she said. "Democracy is not a gift to be brought to a nation; democracy is a process, and it has to take its time.

She said in Iraq, people are "dying in the fire of the war with the excuse of democracy."

As to the future of relations between Iran and the United States, Ebadi was hopeful, noting that just as the members of the audience do not see her as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, she does not see Americans as President Bush.

"I do believe a correct policy in the United States can better the world, and I do believe that the people of the United States can rectify U.S. problems," Ebadi said.

"We are friends, and we will forgive our governments."

Mr. President?

2008-04-15T23:48:00.002-04:00

This is Morgan Tsvangirai. His party the Movement for Democratic Change won slightly more than 50 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe. Theoretically, he is the President, in reality, he still has to convince Robert Mugabe - a tall order. Mugabe's record on human rights, political freedoms and economic policy (150,000% inflation) don't really recommend him to the nice list.

I read an article on the elections was one that ran in the South African Times. South Africa shares a border with Zimbabwe and many refugees have poured into their country throughout Mugabe's rule. Yet it seems the government and people of South Africa have largely ignored the issue. It's an embarrassment to South Africa instead of a poignant humanitarian issue. Thabo Mbeki, the President of South Africa, went as far to say that everything is just fine with the elections. This problem is probably more than any one or two countries can handle but it doesn't mean that ambivalence is the answer. Those people crawling across the border aren't numeric but flesh and blood with families, homes, dreams of a better life. The author was deeply critical of his country for this, saying they should instead see promoting stability on the entire continent as paramount.

This article, chiding South Africa for ignoring it's neighbor, reminded me very much of the United States and its relationship with Mexico. In all of the debates on immigration and border control, how many times have we discussed the economic and political status of Mexico? Mexico has just recently started on its way to a competitive democracy with the defeat of the PRI in 2000 (yes, this decade). Before that, the last time a non-PRI candidate had won the presidency was in 1929. When discussing immigration policy is the Mexican government or any other Latin American government ever brought in as a party with an equal stake in how the problems are dealt with?

The immigrants I know, many of them illegal, may have jobs in the United States but they left a lot behind. Blanca hasn't seen her children in three years. There is a persistent worry that one day everything they worked so hard for will be taken away and they will be sent back to their home country, often to try to enter illegally again. This is their reality. They want jobs but not to stick it to American workers but to send their kids to school, to provide food and clothing. They have exhausted all of their options in their home country and, like good parents, they take significant risks to their person to come to the U.S. to provide. Why are we not looking at ways to not only give them jobs but to give them jobs where they want them? In Blanca's case, she would rather be at home in El Salvador.

Tim Keller says that the opposite of love isn't hate but indifference. He's definitely got a point.

Summer

2008-04-11T12:09:00.003-04:00

This was on Reuters. It's about what I'll be doing this summer. :)

TEMPE, Ariz., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Seven students from universities across the country have been selected for 10-week business journalism internships at major publications in summer 2008, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism announced today.

The students were selected by the host publications in conjunction with the Reynolds Center, which funds the internships designed to help improve the quality of U.S. business journalism.

The students, universities and host publications are:

-- Elizabeth Campbell, Northwestern University, The Boston Globe
-- Cassandra Crockett, Yale University, The Salt Lake Tribune
-- Kate Diaz, Northwestern University, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
-- Amy Eagleburger, University of North Carolina, The Arizona Republic
-- Ashley Macha, Arizona State University, The Business Journal of Phoenix
-- Sonia Narang, University of California, Berkeley, San Jose Mercury News
-- Steven Overly, University of Maryland, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.

"The success of our internship program initiated in summer 2007 underscored the relevance of bringing together quality students with publications that have shown a commitment to quality coverage of business," said Andrew Leckey, Director of the Reynolds Center, which is based at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. "The students greatly benefit not only the host, but their own promising careers in business journalism."

The interns placed at The Arizona Republic and The Business Journal of Phoenix will be shared with the Reynolds Center's BusinessJournalism.org content development team.

ABOUT THE CENTER

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, located at ASU's Cronkite School, was launched in 2003. More than 6,500 working journalists around the country have taken part in the Center's programs, which include daylong business journalism workshops, weeklong online seminars and one-hour self-guided tutorials. The Center also offers business journalism coverage at BusinessJournalism.org, internships and scholarships in the field and runs the Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism.

The Center is funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., it is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. The Cronkite School at Arizona State, named in honor of the long-time CBS news anchor, is a leading professional journalism school with nearly 1,700 undergraduate and master's students.

Maasai warriors + London Marathon = water for Eluai

2008-04-08T09:20:00.006-04:00

I came across a Daily Telegraph photo story on six Maasai warriors who are going to run in the London Marathon on April 13th. They plan to run in their traditional dress which is great- rubber tire shoes and all. They are also from Tanzania so they will probably all tie for first place in the marathon, ha! The best thing though is that they are running to raise money to purchase a well for their village, Eluai, in Tanzania.

One thing that is constantly talked about in terms of development is the idea that it is women who will provide the best returns to education. If you want to promote health, teach the women who will teach the children. This assumes that the men are not really bothered by child mortality rates and generally get a bad reputation as uninvolved in the lives of children. But in this situation it is a group of men who are taking action to provide clean water to prevent the alarming child mortality rate that exists in their village.

From the Greenforce website: "The Maasai are not looking for charity, they are not waiting to be rescued from their plight nor are they asking for hand outs. On the contrary, these brave young have devised a pro-active solution to their problem. They aim leave their homeland for the first time in their lives to travel to London in order to attempt to capitalise on what Maasai warriors do best, …run long distances!"

The Maasai have been encouraged by Kenya and Tanzania to give up their traditional, semi-nomadic lifestyle for a more modern situation. But overall, the Maasai choose to keep their way of life.

As much as I am for economic development to alleviate poverty, my preference would be if traditional cultures could be maintained in the process. The drawback of globalization to me is this funny meshing of cultures in one mono-culture. I like the differences, I want to keep them while still providing for a standard quality of life. I love traditions and I hope that even after these six men have seen London, that they will hold on to their way of life in Africa. These pictures of these six very traditional men standing in the middle of London, one of the world's most modern cities is such a beautiful contrast.

You can give to their cause and find out more about their village here:

http://www.greenforce.org/maasai_marathon/

They also have their own very dedicated website, including a blog, at www.maasaimarathon.org. They are hoping to raise between £20,000 and £60,000 (roughly equivalent to $40,000 to $120,000). Read their blog if you get a chance:

"Our elders told us that we can do it because we have been running all over for killing a lion and herding cattle. We can help them by getting them clean water so right now all of us we are training very hard because we want to do it to make life easier for the Maasai people."

110 best books

2008-04-07T12:12:00.001-04:00

I've got a lot of reading to do...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/04/06/nosplit/sv_classics06.xml&DCMP=ILC-traffdrv07053100

On Sunday, Russia 'votes'

2008-02-29T14:26:00.002-05:00

This picture (credit to Reuters) is a wonderful visual explanation of the likely way Russian politics will go under the next President. I have hopes that the public will be more confident to challenge the hints of authoritarianism yet it's not so much lack of public will as lack of an outlet. Definitely going to catch up on some articles regarding the election that I might have missed.

Everyone drinks tea and so should you

2008-02-24T22:54:00.010-05:00

I love the Reuters photo website - everyday they have a few more galleries of everything from elections in Pakistan to Paris fashion week. Today, they had one titled "Time for a spot of tea" with pictures of people around the world drinking tea. Most of you have probably heard me rave about how much I love other cultures and have probably been asked to have tea with me (if not, inform me and we shall have tea and it will be wonderful). Even this guy drinks tea:

And who is this guy? He's a Taliban soldier on guard in Kabul. He drinks tea, just like I do. One thing I've been trying to understand and live out more is how to love people, to really love everyone as Christ did. He loved us not because we were good or had anything to offer in our sin but because we were created by God. God knit this solider together while he was in his mother's womb, the same way God created me. That doesn't mean I agree with him or support him. It just means that I know that he is God's creation and by virtue of the love that I found in Christ, I need to love him too. Every human being is loved by God and no one is so far gone that he can't be redeemed. Seeing all these people from different cultures drinking tea just made me think about how similar all human beings are. We live, love, drink tea, desperately need Christ and are passionately loved by Him. We all share that essential thread of being God's creation and being the object of His love when He so willingly poured out the life of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are all equally sinful and equally loved in the eyes of God. That is so beautiful and amazing to me. I pray that this man knows truth or soon comes to the knowledge of the truth and, of course, that he enjoys his tea. You can see the rest of the slideshow here: http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?collectionId=1603&galleryName=All%20Collections#a=1

Enjoy!

Men are people too

2008-02-11T18:12:00.004-05:00

Out of curiosity I watched an episode of Cashmere Mafia. It lived up to my expectations, which were very, very low. It's basically about four career-minded women trying to balance work and their personal lives. All four are best friends from business school, fabulously wealthy etc. Doing a real-life show about four single Moms living in the Bronx struggling to pay the rent is just not entertaining or escapist. It's more fun to watch them fret over not having time for their kids or husbands and yet they always manage to have time for lengthy dinners/lunches with each other. Yeah ...

ANYWAY, the real reason for this post is in regards to the men on the show. They are universally shown to be motivated only by getting women into bed. The coworker at the investment group sleeps with the new associate, a husband perpetually cheats, one breaks off the engagement because his fiancee gets the promotion he wanted. The one person happily married on the show spends most of her time complaining to her husband and then barely listens to a word he says. AND he's tempted to cheat as well by a housewife written off as compensating for her lack of a job.

Of course there is the beauty of the double standard. The husband tempted to cheat, well his wife is tempted to cheat too but the tone of the show is not half as judgmental to her. Her friends tease her about it too but are horrified when her husband is tempted. One woman who is trying to start a new relationship complains that he works too much at the hospital ... while she pulls 10+ hour days at her publishing job.

But the male stereotype bothers me the most. Yes, there are bad men out there but there are good men out there . I am blessed to know some wonderful guys. They care about their families and their friends. They don't look at women solely as sex objects but genuinely desire to have a friendship with them grounded in trust and mutual respect. I'm really glad I know some of these guys.

Christians and poverty

2008-02-06T15:57:00.001-05:00

This editorial makes me happy. It's from the New York Times, not my own, but definitely worth posting here so everyone can read it:

"Evangelicals a Liberal Can Love"
By Nicholas Kristof

At a New York or Los Angeles cocktail party, few would dare make a pejorative comment about Barack Obama’s race or Hillary Clinton’s sex. Yet it would be easy to get away with deriding Mike Huckabee’s religious faith.

Liberals believe deeply in tolerance and over the last century have led the battles against prejudices of all kinds, but we have a blind spot about Christian evangelicals. They constitute one of the few minorities that, on the American coasts or university campuses, it remains fashionable to mock.

Scorning people for their faith is intrinsically repugnant, and in this case it also betrays a profound misunderstanding of how far evangelicals have moved over the last decade. Today, conservative Christian churches do superb work on poverty, AIDS, sex trafficking, climate change, prison abuses, malaria and genocide in Darfur.

Bleeding-heart liberals could accomplish far more if they reached out to build common cause with bleeding-heart conservatives. And the Democratic presidential candidate (particularly if it’s Mr. Obama, to whom evangelicals have been startlingly receptive) has a real chance this year of winning large numbers of evangelical voters.

“Evangelicals are going to vote this year in part on climate change, on Darfur, on poverty,” said Jim Wallis, the author of a new book, “The Great Awakening,” which argues that the age of the religious right has passed and that issues of social justice are rising to the top of the agenda. Mr. Wallis says that about half of white evangelical votes will be in play this year.

A recent CBS News poll found that the single issue that white evangelicals most believed they should be involved in was fighting poverty. The traditional issue of abortion was a distant second, and genocide was third.

Look, I don’t agree with evangelicals on theology or on their typically conservative views on taxes, health care or Iraq. Self-righteous zealots like Pat Robertson have been a plague upon our country, and their initial smugness about AIDS (which Jerry Falwell described as “God’s judgment against promiscuity”) constituted far grosser immorality than anything that ever happened in a bathhouse. Moralizing blowhards showed more compassion for embryonic stem cells than for the poor or the sick, and as recently as the 1990s, evangelicals were mostly a constituency against foreign aid.

Yet that has turned almost 180 degrees. Today, many evangelicals are powerful internationalists and humanitarians — and liberals haven’t awakened to the transformation. The new face of evangelicals is somebody like the Rev. Rick Warren, the California pastor who wrote “The Purpose Driven Life.”

Mr. Warren acknowledges that for most of his life he wasn’t much concerned with issues of poverty or disease. But on a visit to South Africa in 2003, he came across a tiny church operating from a dilapidated tent — yet sheltering 25 children orphaned by AIDS.

“I realized they were doing more for the poor than my entire megachurch,” Mr. Warren said, with cheerful exaggeration. “It was like a knife in the heart.” So Mr. Warren mobilized his vast Saddleback Church to fight AIDS, malaria and poverty in 68 countries. Since then, more than 7,500 members of his church have paid their own way to volunteer in poor countries — and once they see the poverty, they immediately want to do more.

“Almost all of my work is in the third world,” Mr. Warren said. “I couldn’t care less about politics, the culture wars. My only interest is to get people to care about Darfurs and Rwandas.”

Helene Gayle, the head of CARE, said evangelicals “have made some incredible contributions” in the struggle against global poverty. “We don’t give them credit for the changes they’ve made,” she added. Fred Krupp, the president of Environmental Defense, said, “Many evangelical leaders have been key to taking the climate issue across the cultural divide.”

It’s certainly fair to criticize Catholic leaders and other conservative Christians for their hostility toward condoms, a policy that has gravely undermined the fight against AIDS in Africa. But while robust criticism is fair, scorn is not.

In parts of Africa where bandits and warlords shoot or rape anything that moves, you often find that the only groups still operating are Doctors Without Borders and religious aid workers: crazy doctors and crazy Christians. In the town of Rutshuru in war-ravaged Congo, I found starving children, raped widows and shellshocked survivors. And there was a determined Catholic nun from Poland, serenely running a church clinic.

Unlike the religious right windbags, she was passionately “pro-life” even for those already born — and brave souls like her are increasingly representative of religious conservatives. We can disagree sharply with their politics, but to mock them underscores our own ignorance and prejudice.

Secrets

2008-02-05T01:10:00.002-05:00

I, like many other people, am a huge fan of Postsecret. Secrets are heavy burdens to bear, the things inside of us that we are afraid to reveal because it makes us vulnerable. I've never written in to Postsecret but I'd like to - more than that I'd like to tell my secrets.

They are mostly silly little things, none of the deep, dark variety. I don't secretly hate anyone but I deeply love and admire many people who don't know it. I've composed thousands of letters in my head telling them - a few were actually written. I told you that I was wrong and that I missed you. And to you I wrote, in no less than ten pages, how much I admired a speech you gave.

The hardest thing of all to tell is love though. When you say to someone you love them, you give them so much power to either make you incredibly happy or dash your dreams, however silly they are, in a word. So many of those Postsecret messages say simply "I love you" or "Grow old with me" - it takes a lot of courage to really say that to a person. But it's so worth it. Courage people, courage.

"If you're going to lie about us then we're going to have to tell the truth about you."

2008-02-02T11:21:00.000-05:00

Obama: I'll see the world through your eyes

From The Daily Telegraph, one of the biggest daily newspapers in London. It is mockingly called The Daily Tory-graph because of its perceived conservative bent. Really great article - I love reading foreign coverage of U.S. elections (in addition to domestic coverage, obviously). After briefly chatting with a friend in Edinburgh, it seems that there are quite a few in Britain who are rather intrigued with Mr. Obama.

People are funny

2008-01-29T01:09:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday I was working the cash register at Lowe's and this happened:

Me to Man: Your total is $8.10.
Man with Bluetooth in ear to Me, annoyed: Ma'am, I'm on the phone.

People are funny.

A chance for diplomacy, for grace, missed

2007-09-26T14:03:00.001-04:00

Regardless of feelings on whether or not Ahmadinejad should have been allowed to speak at Columbia University, he should have been treated with a little more dignity. For the president of Columbia to invite Ahmadinejad and then introduce him with a ringing indictment of everything he has done was in poor taste. Everyone has a right to the freedom of speech - everyone - and this was a huge opportunity for the American people to show that they really meant it. To show that even when we completely disagree we respect a person's right to freely express themselves and say their peace. You don't have to support him, you just have to hear him out.

‘Fruitbat’ at Bat

By MAUREEN DOWD

First, we break Iraq and hand it over to the Shiites, putting in a puppet who leans toward Iran and is aligned with the Shiite militias bankrolled by Iran. Then, as Peter Galbraith writes in The New York Review of Books, President Bush facilitates “the takeover of a large part of the country by an Iranian-backed militia,” with the ironic twist that “there is now substantially more personal freedom in Iran than in Southern Iraq.”

And on top of all that, we help build up the self-serving doofus Iranian president, a frontman with a Ph.D. in traffic management, into the sort of larger-than-life demon that the real powers in Iran — the mullahs — can love.

New York’s hot blast of nastiness, jingoism and xenophobia toward its guest, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, only served to pump him up for his domestic audience. Iranians felt that their president had tied everyone in knots, including the “Zionist Jews,” as Iranian state television said. The Times reports that Mohsen Rezai, a former head of the Revolutionary Guards, was on TV criticizing the rude treatment his president received: “It is shocking that a country that claims to be civilized treats him that way.”

(It also raised his profile on the evening news here. Katie Couric dryly has told people that she remembers how to pronounce his name with the mnemonic “I’m a dinner jacket.”)

After the Bay of Pigs, J.F.K. and his advisers worried that American foreign policy would no longer seem intelligent. W. doesn’t even try for an intelligent foreign policy. He wallows in a willfully ignorant foreign policy. And this week, his irrational ways were contagious.

The Daily News headline, “The Evil Has Landed,” was one of the milder imprecations. Consider this reasoned analysis from Greg Gutfeld of Fox News: “So the foul-smelling fruitbat Ahmadinejad spoke at that crack house known as Columbia University today.”

The heavy-handed, small-minded reaction that played into the hands of the slippery “I’m a dinner jacket” is not excused by Iran wishing the U.S. and Israel gone.

The Soviet Union’s stated policy for 70 years was the total eradication of American capitalism and democracy — backed up during the cold war with actual nuclear weapons. But while challenging the policies and ideology of the Evil Empire, Ronald Reagan understood he had to engage Mikhail Gorbachev, not ignore or insult him.

Reagan was able to help the Soviet Union — and world communism — to fall apart. All W. has managed to do is destroy the country he wanted to turn into a democracy and make Iran more powerful than it was before.

In a sad testimony to how bollixed up things are in Iraq, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki told the Council on Foreign Relations Monday that civil war has been averted in Iraq — not! — and that Iranian intervention has “ceased to exist.” Gen. David Petraeus recently said that Iran was providing “lethal” support to Iraqi militias.

The president’s irrelevant U.N. speech was a bad combo with the schoolyard name-calling of Lee Bollinger. Even some in the anti-Ahmadinejad audience gasped a bit as Columbia’s president gave the meanest introduction in the history of introductions — one that only managed to elevate the creep sitting on stage with his thugs. Once you’ve made the decision to invite a tyrannical leader, you can’t undo it by belittling him in public. Universities are supposed to be places where you can debate and hear dissenting voices; it would have been far better just to hand the mike to the students and let it rip.

Given the repressive and confused stance of some of our Middle East allies on women and gays, isn’t it insane to get into a war of ideas on homosexuality in the Muslim world?

President Bush is the one who hardened the Iranian resolve to get a nuclear weapon with his policy of negotiating with countries like North Korea that have nukes and invading countries that don’t, like Iraq.

W. and his advisers always act shocked that Iran is meddling in Iraq. Why wouldn’t Iran inflate itself at the expense of its former foe and current enemy?

Even after the Iranian hostage crisis, America never really tried to comprehend the tribal politics in Iran — or Iraq — or bolster the Arab speakers in the intelligence community.

As Mr. Galbraith wrote, Iran’s nuclear program is about prestige. Iranians want to be seen “as a populous, powerful, and responsible country that is heir to a great empire and home to a 2,500-year-old civilization. In Iranian eyes, the U.S. has behaved in a way that continually diminishes their country” — from U.S. involvement in the 1953 coup that reinstated the Shah to W.’s branding them as part of the “axis of evil.”

Wouldn’t sticks and carrots — cultural fluency, smart psychology and Reaganesque dialogue — be a better way to bring the Iranians around than sticks and stones?