P
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Thursday, January 20, 2005
well...
I knew that the locks would not be able to stand the temperature of Bolivia, so, they're gone... Rest in Peace. I have not, however, regressed to short hair, rather am taking a stab at intermediate curly length. Return date set at Feb. 2nd...
~ D
~ D
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Jan 18th
Hey everyone
It has been quite a long time since I've written, and now that everyone is working and I am the only one with time to do things, I felt it was important to update the blog.
I am currently still in the PA, resting up for a trip down to Peru/Bolivia. I managed to visit Mackenzie a few weeks ago and say hi to my new baby cousin. She is still only 3 weeks old and it seems like she is growing everyday from the pictures that I have been seeing.
I am planning a massive farewell tour/ graduate school visit trip in the upcoming few weeks before I head back down to Peru. I am scheduled to return to Peru on the 3rd of February. I will stay there for a few weeks before I head to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where I will begin work on the fire history and flooding pattern project at the Museo Noel Kempff. In Peru, I'll have a bunch of things to do - one will be helping to organize entries for an encyclopedia on the Madre de Dios region from a local library. I will also be spending some time reconstructing the GIS database that I began in the fall. The main goal will be a user-friendly and easily navigable GIS database with all of the Cloud forest files on it.
Santa Cruz will be a bit different. As for now, I plan on working several months on a funded project to get an accurate fire history of the pampas del heath, a tropical savannah in Northwest Bolivia. I'm still pretty hazy on the details of where I will be, etc. but more info is on the way.
The past few weeks I have been doing graduate school applications, finishing up the GRE, and preparing for another trip down to South America. In the next couple of weeks, I plan on visiting Duke, UVA, UMD and possibly BU for graduate school visits. During that time, there will be several stops, including Charlottesville and DC to visit the ACA headquarters. Hopefully I'll get to see people on my way, although time will be pretty tight.
Other than that, I have been enjoying relaxing at home and gaining some weight before I head back. I have been looking up info on the future addition to my life - a dog - constantly. The true search for the predecessor of the famous, the infamous Hydrox cat, won't begin until I get back from Peru/Bolivia, but it is something I have been spending lots of time on.
I've also begun a series of meditations on my thoughts on the state of the world which are too lengthy and verbose to post here. So, if it seems that I haven't been writing, it's normally because lots of my thoughts are captured there, instead of on the blog. Not too much has been happening, which is why there haven't really been any additions. I did successfully manage to round up some folks for poker a few nights. I will post some pictures of the recent adventures after this. I promise more interesting tales in the next update
thanks Churcha for the update suggestion
~ D
It has been quite a long time since I've written, and now that everyone is working and I am the only one with time to do things, I felt it was important to update the blog.
I am currently still in the PA, resting up for a trip down to Peru/Bolivia. I managed to visit Mackenzie a few weeks ago and say hi to my new baby cousin. She is still only 3 weeks old and it seems like she is growing everyday from the pictures that I have been seeing.
I am planning a massive farewell tour/ graduate school visit trip in the upcoming few weeks before I head back down to Peru. I am scheduled to return to Peru on the 3rd of February. I will stay there for a few weeks before I head to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where I will begin work on the fire history and flooding pattern project at the Museo Noel Kempff. In Peru, I'll have a bunch of things to do - one will be helping to organize entries for an encyclopedia on the Madre de Dios region from a local library. I will also be spending some time reconstructing the GIS database that I began in the fall. The main goal will be a user-friendly and easily navigable GIS database with all of the Cloud forest files on it.
Santa Cruz will be a bit different. As for now, I plan on working several months on a funded project to get an accurate fire history of the pampas del heath, a tropical savannah in Northwest Bolivia. I'm still pretty hazy on the details of where I will be, etc. but more info is on the way.
The past few weeks I have been doing graduate school applications, finishing up the GRE, and preparing for another trip down to South America. In the next couple of weeks, I plan on visiting Duke, UVA, UMD and possibly BU for graduate school visits. During that time, there will be several stops, including Charlottesville and DC to visit the ACA headquarters. Hopefully I'll get to see people on my way, although time will be pretty tight.
Other than that, I have been enjoying relaxing at home and gaining some weight before I head back. I have been looking up info on the future addition to my life - a dog - constantly. The true search for the predecessor of the famous, the infamous Hydrox cat, won't begin until I get back from Peru/Bolivia, but it is something I have been spending lots of time on.
I've also begun a series of meditations on my thoughts on the state of the world which are too lengthy and verbose to post here. So, if it seems that I haven't been writing, it's normally because lots of my thoughts are captured there, instead of on the blog. Not too much has been happening, which is why there haven't really been any additions. I did successfully manage to round up some folks for poker a few nights. I will post some pictures of the recent adventures after this. I promise more interesting tales in the next update
thanks Churcha for the update suggestion
~ D
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Saturday, January 01, 2005
New addition
Today at 7PM, my second cousin Mackenzie Roxanne Fox was born, a healthy girl. This is very exciting - here's hoping that she has a beautiful life
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Back for a few
Well it has been quite a while since I have actually written a whole post. I guess it's time to take a few minutes and write down all of my thoughts and adventures over the past 4 weeks on the East Coast.
The November election was an amazing time in the United States. I've never really felt such animosity between people in this country. Just walking around with long hair gets one stares and derrogatory remarks in different places. It is extremely interesting. I was a little disappointed by the election, but not much, only because from traveling I have gained a bit of perspective on the important things out there. American politics is at about the same importance level for me as the daily soap operas and WWW matches. All you can do is vote and see what happens.
I was extremely surprised at the weight of people here. In Peru, there were no fat people. Here, people waddle about with absolutely no shame. It's pretty disgusting to me. People can always choose to do whatever they want, but if they moved down there, they sure would catch a lot of slack.
NYC was a mind-blow. Traveling from Q'eros to NYC was most likely the most disparate two areas I could have visited in succession. I feel very lucky to have been able to visit them so quickly after each other, mainly because it really helped me contrast the two views. In Cusco, which seemed like a metropolis compared to the village, there is only one 6 story building. In NYC, as the picture shows, there are countless, literally, countless amounts of them. I thought about bringing my friends there and watching their heads explode.
I have picked up on the rediculousness of American society - the finickiness of our youth, our obsession with television and video stimulation, our grasping, our lack of mindfulness. It is pretty disturbing. What bothers me the most is the ease in which newscasts and television shows can influence our public. In general, Peruvians don't trust their government officials, ecspecially after years of crooks. Here, we can be swayed to vote a certain way by a 30 second commercial...One would think that the most powerful country in the world would be run by people who think for themselves...
I am also amazed at the lack of respect for nature, for life, for other people. Everyone runs around, working, working, working. Granted, people drive around in beautiful cars, have amazing clothes, fifty dollar meals; but do they really have time to appreciate it all? The meaning of life to Peruvians and Bolivians is totally antithetical to that of most Americans that I know. It is all still such a shock.
Anyways, here are a few more pictures from the past month's travels. Bien dia
chau
The November election was an amazing time in the United States. I've never really felt such animosity between people in this country. Just walking around with long hair gets one stares and derrogatory remarks in different places. It is extremely interesting. I was a little disappointed by the election, but not much, only because from traveling I have gained a bit of perspective on the important things out there. American politics is at about the same importance level for me as the daily soap operas and WWW matches. All you can do is vote and see what happens.
I was extremely surprised at the weight of people here. In Peru, there were no fat people. Here, people waddle about with absolutely no shame. It's pretty disgusting to me. People can always choose to do whatever they want, but if they moved down there, they sure would catch a lot of slack.
NYC was a mind-blow. Traveling from Q'eros to NYC was most likely the most disparate two areas I could have visited in succession. I feel very lucky to have been able to visit them so quickly after each other, mainly because it really helped me contrast the two views. In Cusco, which seemed like a metropolis compared to the village, there is only one 6 story building. In NYC, as the picture shows, there are countless, literally, countless amounts of them. I thought about bringing my friends there and watching their heads explode.
I have picked up on the rediculousness of American society - the finickiness of our youth, our obsession with television and video stimulation, our grasping, our lack of mindfulness. It is pretty disturbing. What bothers me the most is the ease in which newscasts and television shows can influence our public. In general, Peruvians don't trust their government officials, ecspecially after years of crooks. Here, we can be swayed to vote a certain way by a 30 second commercial...One would think that the most powerful country in the world would be run by people who think for themselves...
I am also amazed at the lack of respect for nature, for life, for other people. Everyone runs around, working, working, working. Granted, people drive around in beautiful cars, have amazing clothes, fifty dollar meals; but do they really have time to appreciate it all? The meaning of life to Peruvians and Bolivians is totally antithetical to that of most Americans that I know. It is all still such a shock.
Anyways, here are a few more pictures from the past month's travels. Bien dia
chau
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Where have I been?
Winston-Salem, NC
State College, PA
Charlottesville, VA
White Hall, VA
Raleigh, NC
Boone, NC
Pittsburgh, PA
currently in: New York City, NY
About to be home after a few weeks on the road- I'll update next week. Happy Thanksgiving
State College, PA
Charlottesville, VA
White Hall, VA
Raleigh, NC
Boone, NC
Pittsburgh, PA
currently in: New York City, NY
About to be home after a few weeks on the road- I'll update next week. Happy Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Halloween
Well the trip back from PSU was successful. I thought that I would answer a few questions posed by Penn State kids from my trip regarding my travels to Peru/Bolivia. I didn't answer them this way when asked, instead, I've thought a bit about each question and am going to answer them here and now for you.
Q: Wait so you live in Bolivia?
Me: Yep
Q: So, like, is everyone there poor?
Answer: No. Everyone is not poor. Just like every country, there are wealthy Bolivians as well. Santa Cruz was once the cocaine capital of the world in the 80's. Santa Cruz was one of the richest cities in South America and still has a very large wealthy population. There are Hummers and BMWs driving all over the place in the main part of the city. Now, Bolivia is the third poorest country in all of the Americas, so yes, there are extremely extremely poor sections, people poorer than you could possibly imagine, however, in my experience it is not as bleak as everyone in the US believes it to be where everyone is starving and dying of hunger.
Q: Wow Bolivia. What language is that?
Answer: Spanish. As a rule of thumb, Spanish is spoken everywhere, except Brazil, which is Portuguese, and highland areas of the Andes, where they speak Quecha, the native indigenous language. Of course there are native languages in uncontacted lowland tribes and English, which is everywhere, but generally think Spanish and you will be okay.
Q: So, there are those kidnappings and people who would just kill you for 50$ if they wanted to?
Answer: Well, this guy is probably thinking about Eastern Columbia, but no there are not very many kidnappings in Bolivia. There is serious political unrest at times, and in fact, a mayor of an area near Puno was lynched a few years ago, however, nothing really that serious happens too often. If you're thinking about "Proof of Life", that takes place in Columbia as well.
Ok, that's all I got - Plans are to work out of the room this upcoming week and travel plans to Charlottesville and Winston-Salem for next weekend and the week following are being created.
Q: Wait so you live in Bolivia?
Me: Yep
Q: So, like, is everyone there poor?
Answer: No. Everyone is not poor. Just like every country, there are wealthy Bolivians as well. Santa Cruz was once the cocaine capital of the world in the 80's. Santa Cruz was one of the richest cities in South America and still has a very large wealthy population. There are Hummers and BMWs driving all over the place in the main part of the city. Now, Bolivia is the third poorest country in all of the Americas, so yes, there are extremely extremely poor sections, people poorer than you could possibly imagine, however, in my experience it is not as bleak as everyone in the US believes it to be where everyone is starving and dying of hunger.
Q: Wow Bolivia. What language is that?
Answer: Spanish. As a rule of thumb, Spanish is spoken everywhere, except Brazil, which is Portuguese, and highland areas of the Andes, where they speak Quecha, the native indigenous language. Of course there are native languages in uncontacted lowland tribes and English, which is everywhere, but generally think Spanish and you will be okay.
Q: So, there are those kidnappings and people who would just kill you for 50$ if they wanted to?
Answer: Well, this guy is probably thinking about Eastern Columbia, but no there are not very many kidnappings in Bolivia. There is serious political unrest at times, and in fact, a mayor of an area near Puno was lynched a few years ago, however, nothing really that serious happens too often. If you're thinking about "Proof of Life", that takes place in Columbia as well.
Ok, that's all I got - Plans are to work out of the room this upcoming week and travel plans to Charlottesville and Winston-Salem for next weekend and the week following are being created.
Friday, October 29, 2004
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Return
Well the return to the US was fairly uninteresting. I passed straight through customs without getting checked, the first time that has ever happened. None of the flights were late and everything worked out. I still got the usual freak-out at the airport when everyone was speaking in English and I could understand everything, but it wasn't nearly as bad as last year. I did feel the speed of the car this year however.
I'm back in the US, so perhaps my blog won't be as interesting as it was in Peru, but I'm going to continue to document everything anyway, particularly because there are some really good road-trips ahead, and also because I'm going to keep comparing the US and Peru/Bolivia, which is the point of this Blog.
Today, for example, at the bosox/yankees game, I noticed everyone freak out because the police came on the field. In the Cienciano games, when an opposing player left the field, the police covered him with shields, to deflect the bricks and stones thrown at his head. There were always riot police there...so a few fans threw baseballs back, big deal. They'll do anything to make things seem exceptional on TV, even eccentuate the barely interesting.
This week will consist of observing PA - I'll try to write all the thoughts down. I'll also have time to put up some more pictures and write in a new interview. Please keep continuing to read and share with your friends about the site, I'm excited to see all my friends who have been reading, it's a great way to keep everyone updated!
~ D
I'm back in the US, so perhaps my blog won't be as interesting as it was in Peru, but I'm going to continue to document everything anyway, particularly because there are some really good road-trips ahead, and also because I'm going to keep comparing the US and Peru/Bolivia, which is the point of this Blog.
Today, for example, at the bosox/yankees game, I noticed everyone freak out because the police came on the field. In the Cienciano games, when an opposing player left the field, the police covered him with shields, to deflect the bricks and stones thrown at his head. There were always riot police there...so a few fans threw baseballs back, big deal. They'll do anything to make things seem exceptional on TV, even eccentuate the barely interesting.
This week will consist of observing PA - I'll try to write all the thoughts down. I'll also have time to put up some more pictures and write in a new interview. Please keep continuing to read and share with your friends about the site, I'm excited to see all my friends who have been reading, it's a great way to keep everyone updated!
~ D
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