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[...]
Author Archive
May 11th, 2010 - 10:53 am § in Around Town, Guatemala
On the Road – But Why?
The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars. [...][...]
“When are you coming back?”
To go away is to die a little, it is to die to that which one loves. Everywhere and always, one leaves behind a part of oneself. – Edmund Haraucourt Field work requires comfort with transience. Many development workers parachute into places, build their lives from scratch, weave themselves i[...]
Field Loneliness in Colombia
Amazon rainforest In an indigenous community of the Amazonian rainforest, the line between family and community becomes blurry. The village consists of five inhabitants, all of whom are related by blood or marriage. Every November, tribe members flock to the maloka, the hut-like structure that hou[...]
Love in the Time of Conflict
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope.” – Maya Angelou When I parachuted into Colombia after months of work in environments of modesty and reservation, I was taken aback by the abundance of unbridled affection. A[...]
