Last week I stepped onto U.S. soil for the first time in a year, and I admit that I’m experiencing a classic case of reverse culture shock. For the first few days I felt a pang of worry before drinking tap water, and was reluctant to throw toilet paper into the bowl. I wondered at [...][...]
Archive for the ‘Volunteer’ Category
Recognizing Difference
I have been disappointed with the education provided by Anakena when I am wearing my red, white and blue lenses. However, the school is quite impressive when you consider that “discapacidades en Santiago, Chile” brings up less than ten relevant results in Google, which is nothing for a city of f[...]
Back to San Jose, Back to Excitement
Some might say that cities such as San Jose, Límon and Jaco in Costa Rica are ugly. Reasons for this ugliness might include poor air quality, a plethora of prostitutes searching for wealthy gringos (or vice versa), thieves on every corner, traffic jams, or the large amount of drug dealers. I guess [...]
August 19th, 2010 - 7:49 am § in Around Town, Culture, Good Ideas, Guatemala, In the Field, Volunteer
Lessons in Purchasing Power and Investment
I have tried my hardest over the past few years to bury the key concepts and bold lettering that were force fed in business school, a process heavily aided by the acquisition of two new languages and ether-like Chinese rice wine. Last week, however, I was reminded of the purchasing power of American[...]
The Well-Planned Life or The Summoned Self?
I recently read in the New York Times an article that helped articulate the confusion I’ve been feeling lately regarding “the next step” once my job in Peru is over. The op-ed piece by David Brooks is entitled The Summoned Self, and outlines two ways of thinking about life. The first is the We[...]
Runway Mix: This Time Tomorrow
The day of departure is an emotionally volatile period for soon-to-be expats. Anticipation is tarnished by anxiety. Isolation belittles independence. Caffeine wrestles with physical and psychological exhaustion. On May 19, 2010, the day that a Midwest summer was traded for the Central American rainy[...]
