Eating Animals?

Against my better judgment, I am currently reading Jonathan Safran Foer's new book Eating Animals. For me, it had a couple of strikes against it before I even clicked open the first page on my Kindle. First of all, it's nonfiction, a genre that usually puts me to sleep within minutes. And secondly, and more importantly, within the pages are found strong, convincing arguments for vegetarianism. It's not that I don't respect vegetarians or understand why they would make this choice. It's just that I know my own lack of discipline (especially when it comes to food), and wasn't sure that I needed some book making me feel guilty about participating in a factory farm system that abuses animals and is destroying the environment.
But I adore Jonathan Safran Foer, so I felt like I owed it to him to read his newest work. After all the joy and pleasure (and tears) he brought me with Extremely Loud and Everything is Illuminated, maybe a little culpability over meat eating was payback. So I began reading and feeling guilty, so much so that the jamon serrano I purchased two weeks ago remains unopened in the fridge.
Jump to Vienna last weekend. Like any respectable tourist in Wien, I decided to order wiener schnitzel for lunch.

Without regret, I chowed down on the delicious breaded veal, effortlessly putting Foer's arguments right out of my mind. Having reaffirmed the carnivore in me, I confidently strode into St. Stephan's plaza, ready to do some more sightseeing. But what did I hear as I stepped into the plaza? Horrible pig squeals if pain. Yup, PETA in all their glory had set up shop right in the middle if the square and were showing lovely images of inhumane porcine slaughter. Help! I think I might be going veggie.

Stay tuned: Why I've Always Wanted a Garden Gnome

A Bit Slick

Dear Slovakia,
A sprinkle of salt would help to melt ice on sidewalks and bridges.

Love, Karen (the girl on the ground)

Amen!

Finally, something the Catholic church and I can agree upon: Clooney

Happy Birthday, Monica!

Vsetko najlepsie k narodeninam! Yup, it really takes that many letters to wish you happiness, but you're worth every letter!
We may not yet have proven that all is cheese, but you can count on the fact that I'll eat some in your honor today!
Enjoy!

Home Sweet Home or Moj Byt

Hovorim po trosku slovensky

My only comfort was the knowledge that I was not alone. Huddled in the hallways and making the most of our pathetic French, my fellow students and I engaged in the sort of coversation commonly heard in refugee camps.
"Sometimes me cry alone at night."
"That be common for I, also, but be more strong, you. Much work and someday you talk pretty. People start love you soon. Maybe tomorrow, okay."
-David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day

I started Slovak language classes this week, and, to my great surprise, I can already form a complete sentence. If you want to know if the book is near or not near the window, if Jozef is or is not Slovak, or if I do or do not have a sister, I am definitely the one to ask. Unfortunately, these aren't generally the types of things that come up while in public. Not that I would know what types of things come up in public, because everything still pretty much sounds like throaty babble to me. But I'll keep studying, and, hey, maybe tomorrow I'll be able to tell you whether or not Viera likes castles.

Stay tuned: Going veggie?

Dibs

Some things apparently are universal in wintery lands...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass-08-jan08,0,6293839.column

You're Going Where? A Slovakia Primer

This week I arrived in a country that, I'll be honest, up until about a year ago, I couldn't find on the map. Slovakia is by no means a popular tourist destination, but it is the country from which my ancestors immigrated to the US several generations ago. Primarily for this reason, I chose to travel to Slovakia for the second half of my sabbatical year. As I wrote in my sabbatical application, "As a fourth-generation Slovak-American with little knowledge of Slovak culture, traditions and language, I feel it is important for me to be knowledgeable about my own cultural heritage in order to encourage my students to be interested in and proud of their biculturalism." But all mumbo jumbo aside, isn't it important to know where you're from and where those traditions that you don't even recognize as traditions may have originated? It seems important to me, so here I arrived, a little discombobulated, but excited to soak it all in and learn.
To give you a bit of context for my adventures, here's some basic Slovakia info:
Where is Slovakia? Is it the same as Czechoslovakia?
Slovakia is a small country in central Europe. Its neighbors are the Czech Republic (to the northwest), Austria(to the west), Hungary (to the south), Ukraine (to the east), and Poland (to the north). Its capital is Bratislava (pop. 420,000), where I'm living. Trivia buffs take note: Bratislava is a mere 40 miles from Vienna, making them the two closest capital cities in the world.
From 1945 to 1993, Czechoslovakia existed as a singular nation. In 1993, the peaceful "Velvet Divorce" took place, in which it divided in two: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
What language do they speak there?
Slovak. It is most closely related to Czech and Polish, and I am told that Slovak and Czech are mutually intelligible, although intelligible isn't necessarily the adjective I would choose to describe any of the language I've heard since my arrival. Luckily (for me), English is pretty widely spoken in downtown Bratislava, but it will be a different story once outside of the city.
What's there to do and see in Slovakia?
Castles and natural beauty, mainly. Bratislava has its own castle, and Spis castle in the east is supposed to be quite stunning. The High and Low Tatras are mountain ranges that cover a good portion of north-central Slovakia, and I can't wait for Spring in order to do some hiking!

Stay tuned: Christiane Amanpour (ha, ha, ha)

There's No Place Like Home or 2 Weeks Fly When You're Having Fun

Reunions, introductions, a little chocolate, and a lot of wrestling

1st Bi-annual Sabb Awards

If I were to give awards in these categories, the following would take the cake:

Best meal: Chiles en nogada
Best sunset: Playa de los muertos, Puerto Vallarta
Most random experience: Touring rural outhouses in Veracruz
Best night of debauchery: Salsa dancing with all of Susan's daughters, then paparazzi photo shoot
Best strolling musician: El Potro
Scariest moment: Waking up to see burglar's feet
Best hotel (excluding all-inclusive): Casa de los Dulces Suenos
Best movie: A Place Called Chiapas
Most fulfilling experience: Volunteering at CITAC
Best drink: Beso negro
Best ruins: Yaxchilan

Most revolutionary experience: Visiting the Zapatista community of Oventic
Best language school: Escuela mexicana
Most painful moment (actually hours): Horseback ride to Chamula
Best animal spotting: Crocodiles
Most nausea-inducing road: San Cristobal to Palenque
Best park: Parque Los Tecajetes, Xalapa
Most allergic moment: Cempasuchil fields
Best church: San Juan Chamula
Best live performance: Nebbia
Best visitors: Mom, Dad, and Jules

Congratulations to all the winners! Europe, it's your turn to compete.

Bienvenido

Welcome, Issac David! I'm so glad you're here!

EZLN

Two friends and I had the unique opportunity to visit the Zapatista community of Oventic. To learn more about the Zapatista movement, click here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapatista_Army_of_National_Liberation?wasRedirected=true

We weren't allowed to photograph any of the people there, but these are some of the beautiful murals found there.

Walking away from Oventic, I wondered:
Does there come a time when violence is the only option? Can good come of it? What role does education play in a social revolution?

Blessed art thou among women

For the past week or so, in preparation for the celebration of the Virgen of Guadalupe, not fifteen minutes go by without a religious procession passing through the main pedestrian street of San Cristobal. Some come with marching bands, others come yelling cheers that seem more appropriate for a football match than for the adoration of the mother of God, and the most impressive come running from distant towns carrying torches. Little boys are dressed as Juan Diego, the indigenous man to whom the Virgen appeared, and little girls are dressed as Guadalupe herself.
I have heard it said many times that before dating a Mexican man, you need to know that you'll always rank third: first will be his mother and second will be the Virgen of Guadalupe. Looking around at the magnitude of this celebration, that's not too hard to believe.
Speaking of girl power, happy birthday to my dear friend Jean, one of the most powerful girls I know!

Closet Zapatistas

Who knew?

Lost and Found

A couple of years ago, in a Peruvian marketplace, a saleswoman gifted me, along with my change, a small red and black seed to keep in my wallet. She assured me that by keeping it there, it would bring me luck in love and money. I did as I was told and continued to do so, despite not winning the lottery and definitely not being the poster child for "lucky in love."
As I packed for my sabbatical, the little red and black seed made the move from trendy Chicago wallet to floral Mexican coinpurse. But, about a month ago, in a cafe in Coatepec, I oh-so-gracefully tipped my purse and dumped all the contents of it onto the floor, including, I soon found out, the good luck charm. As many people rushed to help me recover my belongings (chivalry, by the way, is definitely not dead in Mexico), all I could think about was locating, on the patterned tile floor, the tiny South American seed. Too embarrassed to get down on my hands and knees and admit what I was looking for, I begrudgingly gave up the search, in the moment resigning myself to poverty and lonliness. For the next couple of days, each time I went to pay for something, I felt the absence of litle black and red.
As time passed, though, and my luck in love and money seemed to stay pretty much the same as always, I thought less and less about my Peruvian seed, until eventually, I forgot about it entirely. Until today, that is.
On a hike through the steamy Lancondon Jungle, Ulises, our guide, stopped to point out a special tree, the ormosia, which just happens to produce a certain red and black seed. Looking down, I saw that the ground was carpeted with them, only these were bigger and brighter than the one that I had been carrying around for so long. All that luck right there for the taking! I chose a nice, big, fat, shiny one and dropped it right in my purse.
I have had trouble believing it for a long time, but maybe it really is true that you have to lose something and let it go in order for it to come back to you, this time even bigger and better.

Despierta, Mary Beth, Despierta

For the 13 of her 31 years that I`ve known her (how can it be that long?), MB and I have had many adventures. On her natal day, I thought I'd list a few:
-Navigating the cheese section at Whole Foods
-Traveling to the Grand Canyon with a psychic
-Eating Chinese food in Mexico (not all of the adventures were the greatest of ideas)
-Being thrown off of a waterfall by raging rapids (why'd she go and break the camera?)
-Convincing Matt to go for bijotes (doesn't take much convincing)
-Watching her assault the waiter at Taj Mahal
-Compiling playlist after playlist
-Performing a mean rendition of Sinatra on a boat
-Reenacting the blue footed booby mating dance while dressed as aforementioned booby

Wishing you many more adventures! Happy birthday!

It´s a tough life, but somebody´s gotta do it

10+10+10 Happy 30th Becky!

10 nice things about Becky:
*She's an amazing book club documentarian
*She's the best Picture karaoke partner a Sheryl Crow impersonator could ask for
*She's generous and patient even when your piles are all over her green chair
*She's a passionate advocate for Upward Bound
*She'll sit up and watch Sex and the City with you even if it's past her bedtime
*She's a #1 source for trashy yet amazing music
*She doesn't get mad when she does all the tech research, and then you buy the better model
*She does the Humpty Dumpty rap almost as well as the 5 year olds
*Her Taffy Apple salad is top notch
*She'll take care of your Slanket while you're away

10 little known things about Becky:
*She has been known to be given the children's menu at restaurants
*She downloads music "legally" from Russia
*She has a Winnie the Pooh bedspread
*Extreme Makeover: Home Edition makes her cry
*She has bowled naked
*She's been to both the geographic center of the US and of North America
*She can name 8 different fabrics in Spanish
*She once ran over a cooler while driving a car that wasn't her own (how convenient)
*She winces when playing catch with 5 year olds
*She has a duck named after her

10 wishes for Becky on her birthday:
*That she never run out of gas in the middle of nowhere unless there is a four-wheeler nearby
*That she check off all 50 states (just not before me)
*That that pesky raccoon never return
*That she always have a stash of Life Savers for that forgotten Cero visit
*That there always be goat cheese on the menu
*That she never win free tickets to an all female music festival
*That she always be victorious in the PICKLE ROUND!
*That she never have to drive in reverse
*That a cute sailor be on board all of her ships
*That she have another 30 years and another 30 after that of zestful living!

Gobble!

Today, like every day, I have an amazing amount of things for which to be thankful. Thanks for being some of them. And eat some extra French Silk for me!

And the fortune that went with it

After my sushi-fest, this was the fortune that arrived at my table:

La oportunidad toca a su puerta una sola vez. Este alerta.

(Opportunity knocks only once. Be alert.)

So I've been trying to stay alert, keeping a keen eye open for that opportunity.

Since receiving that fortune, I've turned down an invitation to join some men in the basement of the "Internet cafe," an offer of a ride in the back of a pick-up truck through a deserted ex-hacienda, and the chance to donate money on-line to a stranger, even though the title of the email affirmed that God had chosen me for that very task.

I hope that none of these were the opportunity to which the fortune was referring.

Maybe the knocks will be louder in Puerto Vallarta (or maybe I'll go back fo a new fortune tonight. After all, mango and avocado together...)

Stay tuned: San Pavo

Pseudo-Japanese Sushi Break

OK, I'll admit it. I'm sick of Mexican food. If I never put another bite of chilaquiles in my mouth again, I think I'll be just fine (and the thing is, I like chilaquiles (what's not to like about chips, cheese, and sour cream for breakfast?)) It's just that I've had my fill of corn-based products, and, while not at all ready to go home, I am more than ready to be embraced by Chicago's culinary selections.
So you can imagine my palette's delight at coming across a Japanese restaurant, non-authentic to be sure, but Japanese nonetheless. Salmon rolls with mango and avocado? I think I will, thank you very much.

Stay tuned: Sugar daddies

H1N1

I would somehow find this message more reassuring if it weren´t next to a skeleton.

(Translation: Our school is flu-free)

Tyin´ it

Congratulations, Rachel and Travis! I wish you much happiness and many adventures together!!

Padres

My parents just departed after visiting me for 10 days. We took part in a Day of the Dead tour and then continued on to Mexico City. Traveling with them, you would have never guessed that they hadn´t ever traveled outside of the US (except for Canada and Los Cabos, which hardly count as international destinations).

These are the reasons I was proud of them as travelers:

1. Not a word of complaint about the food, even though dad just about jumped out of his skin with excitement when he found ravioli on a menu

2. They attempted a little Spanish (mom knows muebles!), although the occasional German "nein" escaped form my father´s mouth (Brain research is accurate!)

3. They climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, all 248 steps

4. Dad kept everyone on the tour entertained with his on-demand karaoke

5. Dad stomached mezcal, and mom took a shot (of water!)

And I thank them for:

1. The extra space in their suitcases (to relieve me of some of my suitcase bulk)

2. The magical floating coin purse

3. Moving outside of their comfort zone to come and see me!!!

Happy Birthday, Jenn!

Once upon a time, Jenn and I dressed as gypsies and read fortunes on the Quad. On her birthday, my wish for her is that she never lose that sense of magic, fun, and light-heartedness.

P.S. Long live Redheads With Balls!

Stop and Smell the Flowers

Cempasúchil (marigolds) play a very important role in the Day of the Dead observance. They are found on every altar, and the cemeteries are filled with them on the night of November first. It is believed that the fragrance of the cempasúchil leads the ánimas, or spirits of the dead, back to the living world for this night.

We had the opportunity to visit the fields in San Pedro, Michoacán where the cempasúchil are harvested. (Made me sneeze quite a bit, but the experience was worth it!)