Wednesday, June 25, 2008
perspective
Note: Skip this if you're in the mood for something light.
But we do still sit in the lunch room with the PI from the lab next door (who is my boss's age) and talk about which movies we've seen lately while I'm thinking about how Boss goes home during lunch to sleep because he doesn't have the energy to make it all day at work. The nagging question persists- what is the right balance? How much weight do you give to keeping in mind that life is so very delicate and how much to living free of thoughts of impending death? If you focus more on the first, you miss out on life, but if you focus more on the second, you take things for granted. A conundrum.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Spanish class
Check it out- my Spanish teacher:
(note: the first hola is mine, the second from my oh-so-green guide, the third from an equally impressed companion)
(note: the first hola is mine, the second from my oh-so-green guide, the third from an equally impressed companion)
corrections/comments
I love it! People read the blog and correct/add/suggest/name things.
First of all: "caving in of the ground", as I so gracefully put it when speaking about disasters, is called a SINKHOLE.
Second: the following organisms were identified:
Flame Vine, Pyrostegia venusta (Bigoniaceae)
Morning glory, maybe the US species, Ipomoea purpurea (this one I thought was a morning glory)
First of all: "caving in of the ground", as I so gracefully put it when speaking about disasters, is called a SINKHOLE.
Second: the following organisms were identified:
Flame Vine, Pyrostegia venusta (Bigoniaceae)
Morning glory, maybe the US species, Ipomoea purpurea (this one I thought was a morning glory)
Shrimp Plant, Pachystachys lutea (Acanthaceae)
Giant Ceiba Borer, Euchroma gigantea (Buprestidae - metallic wood-boring beetles)
Apparently, the beetles are actually red metallic in color, and they secrete a film over their bodies that is this yellow color. They are the largest beetle of this class. And if you look closely at the mid-line, you can see the red tinge coming through. Beautiful!
Ahh, biologists!
Giant Ceiba Borer, Euchroma gigantea (Buprestidae - metallic wood-boring beetles)
Apparently, the beetles are actually red metallic in color, and they secrete a film over their bodies that is this yellow color. They are the largest beetle of this class. And if you look closely at the mid-line, you can see the red tinge coming through. Beautiful!
Ahh, biologists!
Monday, June 16, 2008
birthday bbq
Dry and warm and cozy and fuzzy. That's how the bbq was. Great grilled meats (thank you, chef!), great hospitality (thank you, Ashish and Jules!), and great friends (thank you, all!). And we even learned to the dance the macarena from almost-7 year old Roxanne. (merci bien, Roxanne!).
The good times tinged by a fine, melancholic lining- a realization that this is the last birthday in DC with these friends, some of whom have known me since I first arrived in DC, young and innocent and naive. But it was a great way to mark the different stages of DC- and pre-DC: Hamilton years (Ndegwa and Dana), early years at Georgetown (Seetha and Anne), late years at Georgetown (Ivy and Andrew), my time at NIH (Gail, Ariana, Ashish and Jules), horrible Spanish class at USDA (Aimee and Anne). Ahh, I see my last 10 years passing before me as though a log on a slowly drifting river (Lucia, that one's for you- you are always missed!).
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tikal
The final few days in Guatemala I spent in Tikal. A Mayan city with temples and pyramids built at different times (pre-classical, classical, and post-classical).
In 900s AD, there were 5 million Mayans- not far from the current population of Jordan. I'm not sure how large the current population of Mayans is, but one must also distinguish between the Mayans and the mestizos/ladrinos.
We also did a zip-lining thing, which was a lot of fun. I heard only later that serious accidents may occur, but my Alice-in-Wonderland nature of blind faith was clueless while I was up in the trees. Finally, by the last run, I was able to face forward- it all had to do with the positioning of the hand. I think next time I'll be ready for stunts.
In 900s AD, there were 5 million Mayans- not far from the current population of Jordan. I'm not sure how large the current population of Mayans is, but one must also distinguish between the Mayans and the mestizos/ladrinos.
The mestizos are mixed with Spanish blood, and the Mayans are straight-up Mayan. It seems that in Guatemala, the split is fifty-fifty between the two groups. According to one Mayan, you can distinguish the two when they are young by checking for the Mongolian birthmark right above the butt- mestizos lose this birthmark after a few years while Mayan s keep it. I haven't tested this theory and, therefore, cannot comment on its validity.
In male adults, the distinction comes in the form of facial hair- those with thick facial hair are mestizos because the trait came from the Spanish ancestors. So, the hairier you were, the more Spanish you were, which translated into respect, etc. That might explain why all those Spanish landlords always had such ri diculous looking facial hair. The better to subjugate you with, my dear...
For women, the facial hair thing did not hold up (although it may have based on the Mediterranean traits!). Instead, you could distinguish mestizos from Mayans based on how much weight they could carry on their heads multiplied by how big the basket was. No, obviously I'm just kidding- I can't remember what it was.
Anyway, back to Tikal. We (luckily because the supposed wake-up call never came) woke up in time for the sunrise trip into the park. Although I was the last one to show up as I waited for my over-stuffed computer to download some pictures so I could make room for more (I think I had 8GB of pictures!), the guide was late getting started. So, we ended up practically running to Temple IV, missing the beginning of the sunrise during our jaunt and the rest of it because of clouds and mist. However. It was beautiful- the sounds of the jungle, the birds and the monkeys and things I could not identify. And at the top of Temple IV, you are above the treeline, and so you just look down on a canopy of trees from which a few temples rise proudly into the sky. Spectacular. Obviously, a picture could have saved me from writing most of the last paragraph. Honestly, they're coming...
We also did a zip-lining thing, which was a lot of fun. I heard only later that serious accidents may occur, but my Alice-in-Wonderland nature of blind faith was clueless while I was up in the trees. Finally, by the last run, I was able to face forward- it all had to do with the positioning of the hand. I think next time I'll be ready for stunts.
Oh, and finally, because of the mosquitos (and scorpions?) in the rainforest, we slept in mosquito nets, and we all felt like princesses...
eventful days
Since my return to DC three days ago, I've celebrated (1st and 2nd celebration, at least) my birthday, signed my new contract, given notice to vacate my apartment, and told my boss I'm planning to leave work at the end of the month. Eventful. I'm actually a little tired, and I think it's a combination of having been gone for two weeks (during which time a ton was happening) and the emotional and mental roller coaster I've been through in the last three days.
My birthday day was wonderfully rich with people and emails and phone calls from around the world. It all started at midnight with a special phone call and continued throughout the day, and I ended up pedicured and fed and content. Nothing like knowing you are surrounded by wonderful people.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Day 13 ++
Cafe Condessa
A wonderful old colonial house with lots of patios around which the house is built. It belonged to a Spanish count and his wife. The Spanish count traveled often to Spain for business, and his wife was alone. She ended up having an affair with the butler (mayordomo), and eventually, the people in the town found out. At some point, when the count was in Antigua, someone told him about his wife's affair. The count said nothing to his wife.
He planned a trip to Spain for three months and was prepared to leave. Before he left for his trip, he had planned to do some remodeling at home and bought some contstruction material. The day he was supposed to leave, he said good-bye to his wife, who waited for a few days before she saw the butler. On the third day, she was in bed with the butler when her husband entered the room! Ah. But he did not kill her or the butler. Instead, he enclosed them in the bedroom by building a wall, enclosing them in their den. And, because nobody knew he was still in Antigua, when he escaped to Spain for his intended three month vacation, there were no suspicions.
When he returned, the people told him his wife had run off with the butler. Because he could not confess and did not want to live dishonored by a wife who had run off with the butler (how cliche), he sold his house and returned to Spain.
Many years later, the new owner decided to remodel, and while tearing down walls, discovered the remains of two people in a room. Tragic. The house has the best hot chocolate in town.
A wonderful old colonial house with lots of patios around which the house is built. It belonged to a Spanish count and his wife. The Spanish count traveled often to Spain for business, and his wife was alone. She ended up having an affair with the butler (mayordomo), and eventually, the people in the town found out. At some point, when the count was in Antigua, someone told him about his wife's affair. The count said nothing to his wife.
He planned a trip to Spain for three months and was prepared to leave. Before he left for his trip, he had planned to do some remodeling at home and bought some contstruction material. The day he was supposed to leave, he said good-bye to his wife, who waited for a few days before she saw the butler. On the third day, she was in bed with the butler when her husband entered the room! Ah. But he did not kill her or the butler. Instead, he enclosed them in the bedroom by building a wall, enclosing them in their den. And, because nobody knew he was still in Antigua, when he escaped to Spain for his intended three month vacation, there were no suspicions.
When he returned, the people told him his wife had run off with the butler. Because he could not confess and did not want to live dishonored by a wife who had run off with the butler (how cliche), he sold his house and returned to Spain.
Many years later, the new owner decided to remodel, and while tearing down walls, discovered the remains of two people in a room. Tragic. The house has the best hot chocolate in town.
Day 13+
Things I have noticed only after some time:
- There are no traffic lights. In pretty much anywhere I have gone, including highways and small streets On the highways, you basically make a u-turn or take a ramp to exit. On the small streets, there are some "stop" signs that say "alto".
But mostly things are controlled by speed bumps (feels like Amman). Even on some major roads, you suddenly have speed bumps. Oh, and on really big hills, when you are headed downhill, there are emergency exits (if brakes fail), which are basically a turn off the highway up a very steep hill so that you slow down because of the slope.
- There are lines for the banks. There are long lines to go to the ATM machine and longer lines to see a teller. I think people come in from the villages to use the banks. Also, if you go too early in the morning, there is often no money in the machines. If you go later in the day, there is no money in the machines. If you go during the day, there is a line.
- There is a subculture in Antigua of the gringos. This is often the case, but there are places that are really just geared for gringos. With menus only in English unless you ask for a menu in Spanish. Or signs only in English. A little annoying really. A mi no me gusta esta.
- There are no traffic lights. In pretty much anywhere I have gone, including highways and small streets On the highways, you basically make a u-turn or take a ramp to exit. On the small streets, there are some "stop" signs that say "alto".
But mostly things are controlled by speed bumps (feels like Amman). Even on some major roads, you suddenly have speed bumps. Oh, and on really big hills, when you are headed downhill, there are emergency exits (if brakes fail), which are basically a turn off the highway up a very steep hill so that you slow down because of the slope.
- There are lines for the banks. There are long lines to go to the ATM machine and longer lines to see a teller. I think people come in from the villages to use the banks. Also, if you go too early in the morning, there is often no money in the machines. If you go later in the day, there is no money in the machines. If you go during the day, there is a line.
- There is a subculture in Antigua of the gringos. This is often the case, but there are places that are really just geared for gringos. With menus only in English unless you ask for a menu in Spanish. Or signs only in English. A little annoying really. A mi no me gusta esta.
Day 13
Yesterday I went to the volcan Pacaya. Of course the view was amazing- it is an hour and a half away from Antigua and you can see the volcan Agua from another angle. Beautiful with the clouds and the sunset, etc.
But the most amazing thing was you could see the lava!! A river of lava rolling down the hillside. And you could walk up as close as you wanted, but the closer you got, the hotter it was, of course. I could fee the heat of the rocks near the lava through my shoes, and so you actually could not quite walk up to it. But you could watch it! Spectacular. One of those things you cannot really capture well in a picture, although I will try to post somesoon.
At first there are holes in the volcanic rock with gases coming out. For some reason, there was not a strong sulfur smell, which surprised me. But you could see the colors of the rocks around the gases with yellow and white streaks where the minerals had dyed the rocks. And in some of these holes, you could see the molten rocks like a little hole with red-hot coals. And you could put your walking stick in the hole, which was not very deep (the walking stick is something that the local kids sell over and over again- when you are walking down the hill at the end, they are there to collect them from you to sell to the next group! "stick rentals"). And the sticks would catch fire (wooden sticks, of course).
But the most amazing thing was you could see the lava!! A river of lava rolling down the hillside. And you could walk up as close as you wanted, but the closer you got, the hotter it was, of course. I could fee the heat of the rocks near the lava through my shoes, and so you actually could not quite walk up to it. But you could watch it! Spectacular. One of those things you cannot really capture well in a picture, although I will try to post somesoon.
It was a great trip- met lots of people, which was nice. A guy who is half Palestinian! Surprise to meet anyone else from my part of the world! Unfortunately, everyone spoke English the whole time except for our guide (a young local woman who went up twice a day!) and two policemen (for security).
Today is my last day in Antigua. Pretty sad, but I am starting to poop out, too. Off to Tikal tomorrow and back to the US on Monday! I will have more to say when I get back, I'm sure.
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