I learned about ASCONA because I sometimes shared an office with the president, Ifigenia Canet. The group makes simply “being active” look dull; it’s a community force, holding classes in schools, organizing beach clean-ups, and promoting local tourism projects. I’d stupidly [...]
Archive for June, 2010
A Week of Three “Firsts”
This week was full of "firsts" for me. I explain in some detail my first week working at Colegio Anakena, experiencing my first Chilean World Cup win, and my first run up a mountain.[...]
June 22nd, 2010 - 2:52 pm § in Around Town
Dear Latin America
Dear Latin America, Thank you for teaching me how to feign a command over salsa steps and for putting people in my path who will happily sway me to the beat of your music. Thank you for feeding me fruit that ostensibly appeared downright poisonous, ominous or otherwise inedible and for showing me th[...]
Everybody Say Lúcuma: A Follow-Up to “Buying a New Jacket While Surrounded by Poverty”
In response to my post “Buying a New Jacket While Surrounded by Poverty,” I received a number of insightful comments, both privately and through La Vida, on the question of how much personal spending is reasonable to help the underprivileged, and whether this should increase when working closely[...]
June 20th, 2010 - 10:00 am § in Culture, Dominican Republic
A Lesson in History: Race on the Island of Hispañola
Growing up in the U.S., I got used to talking about race or describing someone by their skin color in a careful manner, afraid to offend someone or say something wrong. This inhibition has been eradicated after spending over two years in the Dominican Republic where a person’s skin color is used a[...]
June 18th, 2010 - 11:00 am § in Around Town, Ecuador
Homecoming
I expected re-entry into the US to be somewhat difficult when I came back from Ecuador. Standard wisdom says it’s harder to come back home than it is to go abroad. Certainly that was my experience when I lived in Japan—it was difficult getting used to the tightly controlled chaos that is Tokyo. [...]
